


Aftermath

by BritishSarcasm



Series: Ironic Technology [5]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Link and Zelda are finally free to actually live their lives, Post-Calamity, Scientist Princess is here to stay and she is not leaving, Slight Link torture in the last chapter? but it's consensual, Slow Burn, Zelda needed a test subject and Link offered so it's fine, a lot of story, but we don't follow the route of Zelda retaking her Kingdom, excerpts from Link's journal that flows into snippets of story, follows directly on from Storming the Castle, they get to LIVE, this is where i wave canon goodbye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-09 18:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12894459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BritishSarcasm/pseuds/BritishSarcasm
Summary: Zelda trusted him wholeheartedly and Link had always had her best interests in mind, restricted though he had been.The pair were restricted no longer and they came to the agreement that they simply refused to bend to others expectations of them ever again. They were finally free to relax completely in each others presence, and they had no intention of ever giving that up.





	1. Chapter 1

_I have decided to continue recording the progress of my Quests in this journal, as I used to in the Sheikah Slate. Only this quest will continue until the day I die. My second death I suppose – that's an odd sentence. I gave another empty journal to the Princess as well to replace her old one and to mark a new section of our lives. She had looked so overjoyed that she hugged me again before tucking herself away in the loft no doubt to start writing in it._

_Now, here I am, under the stairs doing the exact same. It's quiet in this house. I suppose I'll start by recounting the events since I met the Princess._

_Immediately following the battle with Calamity Ganon, I took her back to my house in Hateno on Geoffrey. He was on his best behaviour for the entire ride and did not protest to carrying two people instead of just the one. I should reward him once I finish writing this._

_I made sure the Princess wore some more protective clothing – she took a liking to the Snowquill set – and made sure to avoid the roads, specifically guiding my horse into the more scenic routes towards Hateno. I pointed out all the Shrines we passed and any Towers we could see in the distance – from what I remember she was obsessed with them, and it seems she still is. She was eager to ask questions and enquire about places we rode past, despite being exhausted. I made sure to answer her to the best of my abilities._

_From Hyrule Field to my home, if I really put Geoffrey through his paces, I can easily make the journey before the day is out. It took us two days to reach our destination._

The Hylian pair had stopped once again, only this time they were settling down to camp out for the night. Link had already scouted the area for any monster encampments or bokoblin riders. He found neither, however; perhaps they had sensed that the Calamitous one had been defeated, and were now less confident in these lands. Their choice in camp site was an unnamed field they had come across after passing through Duelling Peaks.

It had been getting dark and the luminous flowers and mushrooms had caught Zelda’s eye. Perhaps, it was more accurate to say that Zelda had become _entranced_. She nearly fell off the horse when she leaned around to continue staring at the bioluminescent flora as they rode past it. If Link hadn’t been acutely aware of the pressure she exerted against his back, he might not have been in time to twist round and catch her as she suddenly slipped to one side.

“I suppose our first port of call should be to see Impa in Kakariko, let them all know what’s happened,” Zelda proposed as she settled back onto one of the blankets Link always packed with his horse. She was propped up against a tree stump and twirled a glowing nightshade in her fingers. The light reflecting off her face illuminated her faraway expression and unfocused eyes. The knight’s brows twitched together for a second as he looked at her, finalising his own nest.

“I think the gigantic pig and the flaming ball of light that disintegrated it was a pretty good message, Princess.”

Zelda side eyed him heavily.

“Please, Link, it’s Zelda… which leads me to a conversation I desperately need to have with Impa, now that I think about it. Plus, there are still procedures that have to be followed; manners to uphold, and people to be reacquainted with.”

_She speaks of following protocols but wants me to call her by her given name..._

Even as she voiced all these responsibilities she slumped further back against the tree stump, sliding down the blanket slightly as fatigue claimed her. A long sigh was heard from where she lay and Link’s troubled expression returned to his face as he flumped down onto his bedding. _After everything she’s just been through she still…_

“No,” Link murmured, shaking his head, staring resolutely at the sky.

“No?” Zelda answered, startled but oddly bemused.

“You’re going to rest for at least a couple of days before going anywhere. Which is why we’re heading straight to my home in Hateno.”

The Princess was now lying flat on her back, head turned to stare at Link. She was still getting used to this version of her knight; one unhindered by pressure and expectations.

“You have a house?”

During his travels, Zelda had managed to catch occasional impressions of Link’s presence. She could often judge his proximity to the castle, near or far, and a basic overview of his emotions. It had, ironically, been a very eye opening experience. Clearly, she had missed the point in time when he decided to buy a _house_.

“Wanted a place to stash some items I didn’t trust myself with. Turned out to be a wise decision, I don’t exactly have the greatest track record with looking after things.” He lifted his mechanical arm up into a lazy wave, “but I have learned to take better care of myself or I’ll be of no use to anyone. Now, I’m going to continue that forward and get you to take better care of yourself as well.”

Zelda bit her lip. It was a sweet sentiment but he would have to overcome years of conditioning that she still had, whereas his had become absent with the onset of amnesia. If there was something for her to feel guilty about it would sink its teeth, not let go, and she did not have the tools to fight it off for long.

“Impa has waited for a century, Link.”

“That being the case, I’m sure she can wait a few more days. Just long enough to prevent the Princess of Hyrule from passing out on her front door step,” He responded quickly, as if he had been waiting for that argument.

Zelda sighed, but it was a relieved action and not one of disappointment or frustration as it would have been one hundred years prior. Smiling to herself, she turned over onto her back once more, caging the glowing flower in her hands resting on her stomach. She cleared her throat before speaking in an aloof voice.

“Well, if you insist Sir Knight.”

“I do,” said knight answered immediately, easily humouring her and Zelda felt a thrill pass through her at the prospect that such back and forth communication would become their new normality.

“But,” she countered, not to be outdone, “ _we_ are taking a rest. Not just me.”

An amused huff could be heard from the makeshift clothing nest.

“I can agree to that. I have to be healthy enough to protect you, remember?” He turned a poignant stare towards the glowing flower, his only clue as to where she was in the dark of night. “That includes sparing you from your own self destructive habits.”

“So, about that muteness of yours.”

Link barked with laughter and Zelda threw the flower she was holding at him, watching it fall short and land directly between them in the grass.

_The Princess was half asleep as we passed Hateno Fort and neared the village. Upon reaching my home, she was awake enough to dismount from the horse – quite gracefully actually - and stand in front of the house while I took off Geoffrey's gear and let him roam. As soon as we walked inside we both went up the stairs and collapsed on top of the bed sheets, sleeping for a full day and night._

_I woke again to find the Princess up and about, inspecting the ground level of the house. She jumped when I came down the stairs, looking guilty as if she had been doing something she shouldn’t. She was still wearing the Snowquill._

“You're free to do as you wish here, you know?”

Zelda looked hesitant and troubled at Link's words, keeping her arms close to her and body tense. 

“Still... this is _your_ home, Link. I wouldn't want to impose on you any more than I already have been.”

Link tilted his head to one side as he looked at the Princess. She had stood tall before a monstrous, coalesced mass of Calamity Ganon. She had remained steadfast in her devotion despite the indifference of the Goddesses, and she stood by her ideals before the eyes of her disappointed father. Yet, the idea of being in his house, a place he didn't attach too much sentimental value to in the first place, made her waver. He didn't understand, but she was uncomfortable and that made _him_ feel uncomfortable.

“You can impose as much as you like. I assure you, it doesn't bother me one bit.”

The rigidity of her form loosened slightly, arms dropping lower to hover by her hips and her eyebrows pinched slightly.

“Are you sure?”

“Please, make yourself at home. As far as I'm concerned, it's your home now too, for as long as you want it to be.”

Her whole form wobbled slightly and it alarmed Link to the point that he actually took a couple of steps forward to try and catch her should she fall. He was instead engulfed in a strong hug, his arms sticking out awkwardly to the sides, as Zelda rushed forward to embrace him. A deep intake of breath was followed by a drawn out exhale as her body finally relaxed, her arms tensing again only for a moment to hug him more tightly.

“Thank you. I _really_ do not want to go back to that Castle ever again.” 

_It took a while for me to convince her that she should feel truly at home in this house - that she was welcome here for as long as she wished to stay and after a couple of days she relaxed._

_I gave her the loft space as her area. I figured after all that time stuck in the Castle she would enjoy being able to see out of a window and the lack of confining walls. I've made myself a sort of den under the stairs, placed a mattress on top of the boxes and bought a lot of blankets and cushions. It so comfortable it's almost a danger for my early morning schedules._

_I refer to it as our home now, not just my home._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_We went into Hateno village to buy utility things and other items people tend to have in their houses. The Princess has quickly managed to make the loft space her own, and she is already on a first name basis with many of the villagers. Not that they have any idea who she actually is. Some were giving me raised eyebrows and a grin over her shoulder – I wasn't sure how I was expected to respond so I didn't._

_~~The Princess~~ Zelda hasn't mentioned her birth right at all, but she did express concern that she had no means to buy items she needed. I showed her the various gems and rupees I had stored in the Sheikah Slate. I would guess that the amount is considered a lot if her reaction was anything to go by. _

“I- We- Yes. Yes, I believe that will be sufficient. Hmm.”

She scrutinised the screen for a minute longer before handing it back to Link.

“Don't you want it?” he asked, trying to give it back but Zelda shook her head.

“You're far more familiar with it’s utilities than I am, it would be best used in your hands.”

Link waited a beat before he pressed the slate back into her pliable hands.

“I can teach you, if you want?”

Obviously, this had been the right thing to say as Zelda's face lit up immediately, looking hopefully back at him. The trip into the village was then taken up by Link running through what each of the runes did and how to activate them. 

“This is Magnesis, it was the first rune I received,” Link explained, after selecting the corresponding rune from the top of the screen. “If you look at the world through the slate it highlights anything that can be controlled as bright pink. Once you're in range of it and you angle the slate towards it, the object goes yellow.”

He directed the slate to point down towards the running water below the bridge they crossed as they left the house.

“See? There's something in the river I can capture with this rune.” 

He tilted the screen towards the Princess so she could see the bright pink silhouette of a chest in the water below them. Link handed her the device, instructing her to tap the screen when the object turned yellow and to then bring the slate up. Zelda followed his directions and succeeded in bringing the chest up out of the water.

“Ok,” Link said, placing his hands against the backs of hers, “if you tilt the slate sharply back or forward you can move the object back and forth. Sweeping the slate from side to side will do the same to the object.”

Too engrossed in what she was doing, Zelda hadn't taken much notice of Link's proximity or tactile guidance, but the Knight had. Realising how close and familiar he was being, he slowly withdrew away from her as to not draw attention to himself while she manoeuvred the magnesis caught chest onto the bridge. Still he had to remind himself that as a Princess she probably expected more appropriate behaviour from him.

“Goodness, this chest is old. Probably from before the Calamity... wonder how I get inside,” Zelda mused. She turned to tug on Link's sleeve, getting his attention back from his introspective thoughts, “you don't happen to know how to pick locks, do you?”

“Not pick them, no. But I can get it open,” Link said, cryptically, as he stood by the chest, lifted one foot up and slammed his heel down on the rusted padlock. “Ta-da.”

“Oh … well, that works too I suppose,” Zelda said, brightly, coming over to inspect the contents of the chest. 

She had the sneaking suspicion he only did it that way to impress her and she wasn't ashamed to admit that it worked. Then again, with how oblivious he could be this may just be a propensity for dramatics she was only now seeing.

Turning her attention to the chest she had retrieved, she opened the lid, gasped, and then immediately closed it again. As she stared directly ahead of her for several seconds, Link came over to inspect the contents of the chest for himself. Prying her hands off of the lid, he peered inside and saw a large collection of rupees; reds, blues, and the occasional purple. 

“That is a ridiculous amount of money to leave in a chest. Also, why is it in the river?” Zelda asked, incredulously, her voice rising as she continued to speak. “Is this how you've acquired your fortune? Random treasures found in forgotten chests across Hyrule?”

Link scratched the back of his head, not looking directly at Zelda as she was now staring at him, thinking over his answer before opening his mouth.

“Sometimes, but it's mainly money I get from selling gems I find from mining, or defeated Talus.”

“Of course, defeating giant rock monsters. Yes,” Zelda went back to assessing the contents of the chest. 

“Didn't you have an unfathomable amount of money as the Princess? Why does this shock you?” Link asked, giving her a curious expression and Zelda had to take a moment to formulate her answer. He had completely bypassed the issue about facing multiple rock monsters, enough to casually amass his fortune. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hit him or hug him, so she moved on to answering his question.

“I've never actually had any sort of tangible wealth on me. Except clothes and other paraphernalia,” she said, looking from Link to the chest. “My status usually spoke for itself and I never actually got to buy anything for myself. It was always acquired for me.”

“Oh. Well,” Link took a purple rupee from the chest and handed it to her, “congratulations, I guess.”

After collecting all the rupees into a pack that Link gave Zelda to attach to her belt, he continued to explain the other runes and the Shrines he had acquired the from. Amid a story about Link running past the decayed Guardians posted outside the Bomb Shrine he noticed that her attention was fixed on the blue light coming from the Shrine up on the hill.

“When you have time, could you tell me about them?” She asked, her voice rather small.

“I can _show_ you,” he assured, pleased to see her enthusiasm return in full force at the prospect of actually getting to go _inside_ the Shrines.

By the time they reached the centre of the village, Zelda was familiar with Magnesis, Cryonis, Stasis, and the theory behind the bombs. Link felt it was probably wise to hold off on a practical demonstration until they had more open space and far less people around. The Princess was currently swiping through images that Link had collected on the Compendium as they walked through the main thoroughfare. It was by no means finished but he had made decent progress towards completing it, with a few of the weaker weapons and shields missing and no Blue Lynel.

“How did you manage to get so close to this butterfly without scaring it away?” Zelda asked, tilting the screen so Link could see the photo she was talking about. It was a close-up of a Smotherwing; the patterns on it's wings captured in perfect detail.

“Very carefully,” was Link's answer, but when Zelda gave him a less than impressed look he explained further. “I would sneak up on them as slowly as my armour would allow and then zoom in. Took a couple of times to learn what their perception range was.”

“I now have this mental image of you, in full armour with all your weapons, trying to creep up to this poor, defenceless butterfly. Then you'd get upset when it flies away,” she said, chuckling slightly as she held the Sheikah Slate to her chest with her eyes closed in glee.

The pair walked into the everyday odd-and-ends shop while Link held the door open for Zelda, shoulders hunched around his ears sheepishly.

“Pretty much.”

_She greatly enjoys her new found independence. Not that she wasn't an independent soul to start with, but due to her position and responsibilities she could not always do what she wished and was beholden to others. Now she is free to come and go however she pleases and has the resources available to enable her to do so. I made it abundantly clear that I have no use for my amassed wealth and anything I had was hers as-well._

_This made her flustered for some reason - I will have to ask about it some other time._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_Zelda has not lost her curiosity and intense need to explore and learn everything she can about the land of Hyrule. Only now she seems to be much more willing to involve me in her studies too. At least I don't have to worry about her trying to leave me behind any more._

“I would like to explore for a bit before we go to see Impa, and I would like to ask that you accompany me. If that is ok with you?” Zelda ventured, looking unsure and yet still determined to hear Link's answer. 

She had taken a liking to wearing a white-dyed Hylian Tunic. It oddly suited her, and it was more suitable for a trip into the wilds than the Snowquill. Evidently, she wished to leave sooner rather than later.

“Of course, where would you like to go?”

Such an accepting answer gave Zelda pause. For some reason, that she now could not recall, she had expected Link to insist they stay and rest some more. Or silently express judgement that they were delaying the inevitable. The idea seemed ridiculous now as she remembered that Link had always done anything he could to make her life easier and keep her happy. At least, he had when she finally allowed him to during the end of their partnership. He was also the one that encouraged her to recuperate _before_ going to see Impa. 

Zelda argued that this was still a part of her recovery process and squashed the guilt born from years of conditioning. Now if only she knew how to answer him.

“I... I am not sure where I would like to go, actually. Somewhere that doesn't have many people? But still has lots of plant and animal life for me to study...” She trailed off, feeling a little silly with her request, but Link seemed to be seriously giving her request some consideration.

“I think I have a good idea. I imagine it's changed quite a lot since you last saw it though,” he concluded, moving around the house to pick up various items and have them be absorbed by the Sheikah Slate, which was placed face-up on the dining table.

The Princess leaned across the table to peer at the items as they disintegrated into blue particles of light, one by one. The ease with which her Appointed Knight handled the Sheikah Slate inspired a certain amount of jealousy within her, but it was outmatched by how pleased she was with this advancement. She couldn't wait to pepper him with questions about it when they had both settled into a post-destiny life. She felt it would be a bit much to bombard him with her insistent queries so soon after his countless near death experiences.

Lost in her thoughts, Zelda hadn't noticed that Link was all packed and ready to go waiting by the door.

“Shall we?” He asked, half way out of the house and Zelda came back to herself to answer a quick affirmative and follow him out the door. 

The destination was the jungles of Faron, and there were two options. Either the pair could take the less strenuous route, which passed back through Duelling Peaks and then south into Faron region. Or, they could take a road down to the coast of Loshlo Harbor and then hike up through the mountains and take considerably less time. 

Zelda opted for the more adventurous path and Link was _thrilled_.

They made good time scrambling up the cliffs of East Necluda, with Link leading Zelda through Keya Pond on the Dunsel Plateau to skirt around a Hinox. Both of them were extremely thankful that Zelda had chosen the Hylian Tunic, even if the colour was unfortunate for this sort of activity. Trying to imagine her making this journey in her prayer attire was laughable.

By the time they had reached the edge of the plateau leading down into Atun Valley, the sun had started to set. The open sky was enough to distract Zelda from their journey for a sufficient amount of time that it prompted Link to ask if they should set up camp. After a peaceful night gazing up at the twinkling stars above them, the Hylian pair continued down into the valley and followed the path that took them into the heart of the Faron Region. 

Dense clusters of trees and vibrant flora was just what the Princess had envisioned for her little excursion. Only a couple of travellers past them as they made their way further into the dense foliage.

“They're probably heading back to Lurelin,” Link informed her, waving back to a Hylian that gave the pair a short salute in greeting.

“Oh?” Zelda prompted him to continue.

“They tend to trade at Stables nearer Hyrule Field but they often stay at the Lakeside Stable on the other side of Floria bridge, which is further ahead.”

After about ten minutes of walking and, in Zelda's case, obsessively recording every new flora species they encountered, the Princess suddenly detoured off the main road to climb up a bank. Link hurried on after her, acutely aware that lizalfos would be swarming these areas and he couldn't remember the last time he had swept through here.

“Princess, I think it would be wiser if I went first. We'll go slowly.”

“Trouble?” Zelda asked, coming to a complete stop in her assessment of a Mighty Thistle to give Link her full attention.

“Possibly. More a hassle than a genuine problem, though.”

“Ah, of course,” she said, a small smile gracing her features.

Her confidence now restored, she knelt down to finish her investigation of the brightly coloured plant before her, and Link stood protectively next her. He would admit that he became more and more interested in what _she_ was doing rather than keeping an eye on his surroundings, however.

A pattern was soon established where Zelda would spot a new item of curiosity and speed over to investigate it before stopping to let Link give the area a quick sweep. Once she was given the all clear with a thumbs up gesture from her Knight, the Princess would settle herself down before the new specimen and give it a thorough examination. She would add detailed notes attached to the images she stored in the Sheikah Slate, as Link had shown her, before standing back up to move onto a new area.

Admittedly, Link was a bit suspicious after an hour of this when no monsters showed themselves. However, he was in a good mood and decided to take this as a possible blessing from Farore to give them some peace. Unfortunately, no matter how peaceful the Hylian Champion was feeling, it became apparent that Zelda was not in the same state. 

Her investigations became more hurried and she would often start studying plants she had already documented. Eventually, she stopped before another Mighty Thistle, letting the Sheikah Slate hang from her hands loosely at her side. She didn't move from her position for a while and when Link came over to ask her what was wrong, he could see that her head was bowed. Gently, he took the Sheikah Slate from her, attached it to his belt, and then placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Zelda, what's wrong?”

It took her a moment, but an intake of breath was the tell tale sign that she was bracing herself for a conversation she would rather not have to express out loud. But never the less, she had to. 

“Link,” she said quietly, turning back to see him, “when we go to see Impa, I feel I will be making quite the controversial statement.” She paused to make sure that Link was paying attention – he most assuredly was – and to formulate her next words. “I say this to let you know, that whatever you decide to do following my announcement I will not hold it against you. We have both fulfilled our roles and the oath you gave to my Father has been completed.”

Seeing Link's narrowed eyes and tilted head in response to this, Zelda misunderstood his expression to be confusion over the Oath she had referred to.

“Upon becoming my Appointed Knight you would have sworn an oath to protect me until you died or my Father freed you from your pledge.”

_That's not what I'm concerned about, Princess_ , Link thought, now frowning slightly even as he nodded slowly.

“So,” she took a breath, “if you decide you would rather we part ways-”

“Woah!” Link started, holding his hands up quickly, “I never said anything about leaving!”

“No, of course you didn't,” Zelda responded, equally surprised now by his outburst. “I only meant that if you wish to leave-”

“I don't! Do … Do _you_ want to leave?”

“No! Of course I don't want to leave.”

“Then why are you bringing it up?”

“I'm only saying that the option is available to you if you want to leave you can. I refuse to force you into a situation you feel you cannot get out of. There is nothing binding you to me any more. If you wish to stay it would be of your own free will.”

“Then that's fine, because I'm not going anywhere!”

“Good, because I don't want to go anywhere either!”

There was a pause as they stared at each other, both standing defiantly as if they had just won the debate. Bird song echoed off the trees and damp cliffs around them, insects scuttled about on their plants and the occasional drop of condensation from the canopy above would fall into a puddle adding to the melody of the jungle. The relentless but subtle flow of sound and activity around them brought the pair into a more relaxed state as they finally processed the situation they found themselves in.

“Oh.”

A small grin broke out on Zelda's face and it grew into a beaming smile that she then covered with one hand as she started to laugh.

“Oh!”

As she turned away slightly to laugh harder, still covering her face, she missed Link's expression of delight. He had never heard her laugh before.

“I suppose, I should confide in you what I intend to tell Impa,” Zelda said, her laughs receded as she took on a more serious tone. “I have been considering this for a while, and coming out here has allowed me to see the land of Hyrule as it is. As it should be.”

She tilted her head up to the tree canopy above them, large leaves blotting out direct sunlight and tinting the world below a light green. The moisture in the humid air trapped below the tree line clung to their skin and clothes, condensing on the flowers around them, causing them to sparkle. 

“I don't have the heart to disturb this land. I mean just look at it, look how nature has reclaimed this Kingdom. With no-one here to maintain and cut back excess growth the forests and this jungle have been able to run rampant and they're so full of life.” Zelda twirled around to take in all the sights around her almost teetering over a stray root in her excitement before Link was able to steady her.

“Even the people here have learned to live _with_ their environment,” she continued, completely ignoring her sudden loss of equilibrium as she now held onto Link's shoulder. “They have not tried to wrangle it into submission or expected it to bend to their wishes. It's just free, untamed and wild. It's breath taking.”

Facing Link directly, with her eyes shining, Zelda braced herself to share her decision.

“That's the life I want for myself now. I have no desire to return to the Castle or that way of life. Link, I'm not reclaiming my throne. I am not becoming the next Queen of Hyrule.” 

Zelda paused to assess how her Knight had responded to her words, noticing that he had actually reeled back a little in surprise, before she completed her speech. 

“I want to finish the research I started a century ago and start research into new areas too. I wish to build a world where knowledge is valued and can easily be accessed so that future generations will not be left to flounder in new discoveries. Considering your extensive practical knowledge and your personal experiences with traversing this Kingdom, it would seem only logical that I ask you to come with me. Of course this is entirely up to you, and I would completely understand if you would rather lead a more relaxed and peaceful life. Given everything that has been asked of you it seems only right, but I would still value your input on my endeavours, no matter what you decide.”

She finally let go of her grip on his shoulder, realising that her hold had been steadily getting stronger throughout her speech and yet her Knight hadn't seemed bothered by it. It was only then that she noticed she had been clinging to his right shoulder, which had no sensation in it at all. Meanwhile, Link was staring at her incredulously, unable to keep his deeper sarcastic nature in check in this moment in time.

“Oh no, however will I cope with following you all over Hyrule, battling Monsters and helping you with your Research. It sounds _awful_ ,” Link raised an eyebrow as he finished speaking with a deadpan voice. 

Zelda was stunned for a moment, parsing his words through the sudden outpouring of sass. She recognised that he had essentially agreed to come with her but had not reacted with more than mild surprise to her rejection of the monarchy. Then again, he _did_ still have amnesia.

“I ask you a serious question … and you answer me with sarcasm!” She was batting at his arms and chest with her hands, failing to hide a grin despite everything. 

“It's a defence mechanism, I think,” he answered, also grinning, and doing absolutely nothing to halt Zelda's assault against his person. “But, really, why would my opinion matter? It's your choice to live the life you want. There isn't anyone alive who can really pressure you into doing otherwise, and no-one is powerful enough to make you. I would be happy to serve as a threat too, if need be.”

Zelda leaned forward to rest her forehead against the shoulder that still had sensory function and let her arms hang down. She was a sea of various emotions trapped inside an exhausted vessel; happiness, relief, gratitude, peacefulness, exasperation, and fondness all mixing together. She wasn't sure what emotions were currently being expressed on her face or if all of them were trying to broadcast at once. This made her thankful that Link couldn't actually see her face, but she had one final question before she could relax completely, and without any fear.

“You would have followed me no matter what path I chose, wouldn't you?”

“Of course, I would.”

_She seemed worried as to how I would react to her wish to not rebuild her Kingdom, as if I would do anything but support her._

_My lack of memories from our time one hundred years ago are really starting to become a hindrance. I am unsure of how familial I was with her towards the end or how comfortable she was with our partnership. I will simply have to re-learn and hopefully not come across as a complete fool in the process. However, I do hope we both eventually reach a state where we no longer have to second guess our actions. Where we can both trust each others motivations without question and we can both be comfortable in each others presence._

_I look forward to it._


	2. Chapter 2

_~~The Princess~~ Zelda is not nearly as well adjusted as she portrays herself to be, thankfully this time she does not shy away from an offer of support. Oddly, I find this more reassuring than if she had genuinely been fine following her century long imprisonment within the Castle. After the struggle she went though, coming out unscathed in body, mind, and spirit would have meant there was a far bigger underlying problem. Something I could not touch._

_She says that she was not fully aware of time passing, a blessing granted to her by her goddess blood, but her ability to discern dreams from reality is weak at times. Both herself and the Calamity succumbed to a slumber similar to my own, allowing their astral forms to oppose each-other which always ended in a stalemate._

_~~The Princess~~ Zelda has developed an aversion to any of the areas around the Castle – understandable – and her rather manic glee at watching pork cook should be disturbing. However, I admit, I am incredibly weak to char-grilled pork myself and I am only too happy to indulge her._

_But the most vulnerable part of her days are the hours of the early morning - that section of time where things don’t quite seem real anyway. But we quickly came to an arrangement that suited us both._

Zelda stared at the roof above her; the moonlight from the unveiled window was casting a bright shape over the blankets covering her body. Her body was trembling slightly, but her stare was unwavering, her mind a great distance away from her physical form.

The roof above her told her that she was in Link’s house, that she was safe. She had made it out; he had come for her like she knew he would. Yet, this feeling of dread and despair that she could not shake from her nightmares, persisted into her waking hours. Was she awake? What if she had not actually made it out and this was just her mind conjuring some fantasy to protect her psyche against the onslaught of the Calamity?

These thoughts jettisoned her straight into panic and a fight or flight response was initiated. As she had nothing before her physically that she could fight, her body went to flight. 

Hands skittered over the blankets as she pushed them aside and she scrambled up from the bed, lunging for the railing to steady herself and make her way down the stairs. All the while she muttered to herself.

“No, no, no, no….”

She reached the base of the stairs and swung herself around it to reach the nest underneath it. She could see Link spread out across the mess of blankets on his back, a sand seal plush was held in one arm, the other artificial one bent above his head. She lifted up the covers and nestled herself in amongst the bedding, curling up at Link’s side.

Her heart rate started to slow again, and her stuttered breathing evened out. She held his sleeping tunic in one hand, tightly, while she rested her head by his chest. Gradually, she forgot the cause for her panic; it seemed so far away now, unimportant. 

In the morning, when the pair re-awoke, Link was understandably surprised and confused to find the Princess so very close in her night clothes and in his bed no less. But when he asked her, tentatively, if there was anything amiss she had responded in a small voice.

“Sorry. Bad dream. Thought you weren’t real. Wanted to make sure that you were.”

That had been enough for the appointed knight, who nodded to her and relaxed back amidst the cushions for a lie in. The Princess, however, retracted out from under the blankets and went back up to the loft to get dressed and start her day.

The same scenario played out again and again for the next few nights. Zelda would wake in the limbo hours of the morning, her unoccupied thoughts would send her down a path of helplessness, and she would flee down the stairs and into the amalgamation of blankets with her knight.

Yet, it still surprised her when she found, one day, that the nest under the stairs had been made slightly bigger so that they could both fit in it. Link had shrugged, and explained that if she felt better – _happier_ \- sleeping in the same place as him he didn’t see why she shouldn’t just start there.

“Besides,” he deliberated for a second before saying, “it’s nice knowing that I’m not here alone any more.”

It vaguely occurred to Zelda, as they both curled up with their backs together surrounded by soft materials, that this arrangement should be odd to the pair of them. Sharing a bed with a man similar in age to herself would have been scandalous back in the castle and her Father would have combusted. But still, it felt comforting and _right_ to be next to one another, like they were always supposed to be this close. She trusted him wholeheartedly and Link had always had her best interests in mind, restricted though he had been. 

The pair were restricted no longer and they came to the agreement that they simply refused to bend to others expectations of them ever again. They were finally free to relax completely in each others presence, and they had no intention of ever giving that up.

_There is of course the odd awkward morning where one of us has accidentally started using the other as a pillow. We've had to introduce a blanket statement that neither of us find it awkward as long as the other doesn't... it took a bit of getting used to._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_We went to see Impa today. I'm actually writing this sandwiched between Koko and Cotla from the floor of Dorian's place. ~~The Princess~~ ZELDA is staying with Paya, and I was intending to camp outside but Dorian found me. Apparently, his daughters had heard I was back and proceeded to pester him non-stop... So, I've been re-counting some of my adventures to them and now they're fast asleep. I don't have the heart to move them so I can get up, even though I should think about getting them into a bed._

_After today, I really should just settle down to sleep myself._

The day had begun as most others had in Link's house, with one of the pair waking up much earlier than the other and beginning the careful process of trying to get out of bed. Without disturbing the other.

However, on this day, Zelda and Link had already made preparations to finally visit Impa. After the Princess had confided in Link what she planned to do, upon returning to Hateno she had written a message to be delivered to Kakariko Village.

It had been a joint effort to write the letter, as Zelda wished to remain polite and formal but at the same time also convey how apologetic she was that it had taken so long and that she had matters to discuss. Occasionally, the Princess had asked Link to skim over it.

“Does this sound too pushy? Too arrogant maybe?”

“Prin- Zelda … I think it's fine. She's pretty easy going.”

“That's because you have this infuriating ability to be familiar with everybody.”

Link had made a small strangled noise in response to this and Zelda, not noticing his now pink-tinged ears, assumed she had accidentally offended him.

“No! I didn't mean it like that. No, no, no, it's a good thing! I'm just jealous,” she'd assured waving her hands at him desperately, all while her Knight tried battling off several different emotions at once.

The letter had eventually been sent, confirming the date they were to leave and sealing Zelda's fate. She appreciated that she was being a tad over-dramatic, and that Link had been correct in saying that no-one could force her to do otherwise, yet she still fretted. It was what she was good at these days.

On this particular day, her fretting had caused her to be the first to wake up and find that she had pressed her face directly into Link's back. He was curled up facing away from her and she had her arms wrapped around his ribcage. She vaguely recalled having a teddy bear she used to hold like this when she was a child and the thought nearly made her laugh out loud despite her stress.

The sudden bodily jolt she gave whilst trying to suppress the laugh was enough to rouse Link from sleep.

He uncurled from his sleeping position, legs stretching to their fullest extent and his back curving inward and away from Zelda. She withdraw her arms from around his body as all of his limbs then stretched forward in front of him before they were pressed against the wall. As he stretched he made an odd sort of squeaking noise before it became a yawn. The Princess was thoroughly reminded of a dog waking from a deep slumber, and placed both of her hands over her mouth in an effort to further contain her mirth.

“Morning,” Link mumbled, relaxing back into the bedding, “time to get up?”

“I'm afraid so,” Zelda lamented, who was also quite content to just stay in bed and have some more lazy morning conversations. They had been covering various topics, from what the pair planned to do now that the Princess turning Researcher had moved in with Link to which areas of Hyrule they should explore in detail first.

The former Knight groaned, mumbled some choice words, before rolling onto his front and levering himself up, fantastic bed-head splayed all over the place. At the moment, he looked less like a dog and more like a cockatiel. His blue sleeping tunic was hanging off of one shoulder, the sleek dark surface of his Guardium shoulder showing through and the pulsing orange glow from in between the swirling designs seemed to brighten as Link became more awake.

“Link, after we visit Impa,” Zelda broached, causing Link to stop his attempt to climb out of bed without accidentally squishing her, “would you mind if I took a look at your arm?”

The small Hylian kneeled upright amidst a pile of cushions and huffed a laugh.

“I had expected you to ask already to be honest. Of course you can. Maybe you can actually explain to me how it works?”

“Didn't Purah or Robbie tell you?” She asked, shuffling out of bed to let Link escape after her, astonished at such an oversight on the Sheikah researcher’s part.

“I just need to point and shoot,” Link said, demonstrating by raising his prosthetic, straight armed and palm outward in front of him.

Zelda nodded; it was understandable that he probably had not had the time to really delve into the finer intricacies and would rather know how to use it as efficiently as possible. 

Donning the white Hylian tunic, she had claimed as her own, Zelda grabbed the Sheikah Slate from the table and handed it to Link who had just pulled the Tunic of the Wild over his head. The white lobster patterned blue sleeping tunic was folded neatly over the back of a nearby chair. She was pleased to note that he was actually quite organised with his belongings, and it would be another great aspect of their partnerships when he travelled with her on research trips. They had both double checked all their provisions, not that they needed many, before allowing them to be deconstructed into the Slate. Zelda liked to think she was organised, and she _was_ in the main, but when she was in the 'zone', as Urbosa had affectionately called it once, she tended to lose sight of her immediate surroundings and the chaos of notes she created.

Remembering Urbosa filled her with melancholy. Try as she might she could not escape the cold claws of truth that told her that her friends were well and truly gone. Link had dutifully relayed the messages their prior comrades had given him in their spectral forms. It had eased her concerns somewhat, but the void they had once filled would take far longer to get used to and live with. One day, she would be able to confront the Divine Beasts again.

“We should visit King Dorephan after we visit Impa. I believe it would soothe him to know that even though he lost his daughter, she was still able to complete her goal and save civilisation. It won't be a complete consolation, and nothing ever will be. I also need to apologise; he was right. We never should have attempted to revive a power we did not fully understand.”

Link, now fully equipped with the Master Sword on his back and the Slate clipped to his belt, came over to her and rested a hand against her upper arm.

“How about we get this visit with Impa sorted first. Then we can think of what to do after?”

His words had the desired effect and grounded Zelda to their current predicament. One step at a time.

“Of course, lead the way.”

It took the pair until midday to reach Kakariko bridge on the back of Geoffrey. When Link didn't steer the horse to turn right and canter across the bridge, but instead guided him left, Zelda leaned forward to speak directly into his ear.

“Link, where are we going?”

“You'll see,” was all he said in response.

About half an hour later and the Duelling Peaks Stable came into view. Slowing the dark horse down into a slow amble, they approached the stable owner and came to a complete stop. 

Dismounting, Link went up to the desk and the man behind the counter greeted him warmly. Zelda entertained herself by watching people walking along the path to and from the stables and the Hylian Retriever that was sniffing his way towards her Knight. It was nice to see how in the face of adversity and even after the complete and utter destruction of Central Hyrule, little populaces supported by outposts like these created a wide reaching network. She had been informed of multiple stables all over the Kingdom, and the minimal but efficient communication between them all made it possible for horses to be transported to a specific stable ahead of time to meet their owners.

Zelda was constantly being greeted by more and more instances were people proved they were able to organise and liaise amongst themselves adequately without her interference. She wasn't about to come in and insist otherwise.

“Pr- Zelda.”

Startled out of her musings she directed her sights down towards Link, who now stood beside the horse and was offering a hand up to help her off. She took it gratefully and dismounted, her boots crunching against the pebbles and sand of the pathway beneath her feet. 

Still holding onto his hand, she was led over to the side of the stable where they stopped to watch a pure white horse being brought round from the paddock at the back. It was a large, well built stallion but what caught Zelda's attention the most was the Royal bridle it was sporting, the purple and gold standing out starkly against his snowy chest; the spitting image of her old horse from a century ago. Looking to Link for confirmation, who gave it in the act of inclining his head towards her, she started forward again. Gradually, her grip on Link’s hand lessened as she walked towards the horse, letting go entirely to approach the new stallion. The pale beast snorted at her, tossing his head gently as if he was waiting for her to do something.

“Soothe your mount…” she murmured, reaching a hand forward slowly as not to spook him.

“Or they’ll never know how you truly feel,” Link finished; smiling in response to Zelda’s turning her delighted face back towards him.

“You really do remember that?” 

At Links nod, Zelda returned her focus to the white horse and stroked down his muzzle with more confidence. Hands stilling on the horse snout, she could feel the animal breathing in and out slowly. Moving around to the side but still in the stallion’s line of sight, she pressed her open palms to the beast’s ribcage as its lungs expanded and diminished with each breath. 

“Oh, Link, he's beautiful. What's his name?”

There was a pause and Zelda tore her attention away from the horse, _her horse_ , to see what Link what doing. He was shifting slightly, his eyes averted to the sky, and Zelda pursed her lips.

“What did you call him?”

“... Ophelia.”

“Ophelia?!” She asked, not expecting that at all, “Link, you are aware that this horse is male, yes?”

“Yes … look it was a pretty horse that needed a pretty name; we've already established I shouldn't be in charge of naming things.”

Laughing so hard that she needed help getting up onto _Ophelia,_ Zelda and Link continued on their way to see Impa. She didn't notice the stable master looking at Link dumbfounded by the sight of her on the Royal steed, and she didn't see the grin and the carefree shrug Link gave him in response, either.

By the time their horses slowed to a trot as they entered Kakariko Village, the sun had started to dip down behind the hills that surrounded the valley the village was nestled in. The villagers, taking notice of two Hylians arriving on horseback, gave them a wave before getting back to work; closing up their stores or collecting up the tools they had been using for the day.

The pair followed the path, moving past all the residents’ houses and the odd cuccoo, until Link pointed out Impa's home at the apex of the village. Dismounting at the base of the stairs, the Sheikah guards stationed either side of the entrance archway came forward to greet them.

“Welcome back, Master Link. I see you were successful. Well done.”

Link turned to the one addressing him.

“Thank you, Cado. Zelda, this here is Cado and this is Dorian,” he indicated the other guard. “They guard the village, but more often than not Impa herself.”

Meanwhile, Cado and Dorian had done a double take at Zelda's name.

“You don't mean .. Princess?!” Cado asked, astonished.

Zelda waved at them both hurriedly to be at ease before either of them could start kneeling or saluting her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both, and once I have concluded business with Impa I would very much to know more about the pair of you.”

The guards were incredibly taken aback but they managed to shake themselves out of it quickly, and Dorian stood to one side.

“Of course, we would be delighted. For now, we welcome you to Kakariko Village. Lady Impa is expecting you, just this way.”

With an arm swept open to the stairs, Dorian allowed Cado to pass by him, leading Link and Zelda up to the double doors of Impa’s home, before following up after them. Once at the top, Cado and Dorian took up position on either side of the door

“We will be stationed right outside, let us know if you need anything,” Cado assured, as the pair of guards opened their respective doors for the two Hylians.

“Ah, so you have finally returned to us, Princess. I must say it is delightful to see once again.”

The doors closed softly behind them and finally, after over one hundred years, Impa and Zelda were finally able to see each other. The Princess gave a watery laugh in response, blinking back tears, and wondering why she had delayed such a meeting in the first place. Logically, she knew time had passed for everyone but herself and Link, and yet seeing her most trusted advisor, now nearing the end of her life was still a bittersweet moment. Countless hours had been spent together; dealing with Purah’s eccentrics, hoarding all manner of ancient manuscripts, and often just sharing each others problems.

“It is delightful to see you too, Impa. You have no idea.”

The Sheikah Elder patted the cushions she sat upon and waved Zelda towards her. The Princess of Hyrule obeyed, slowly walking towards her old friend, before surging forwards into Impa's open arms.

“I daresay I look very different from the last time you saw me, but at least _you_ actually remember me,” Impa said, jovially. Her eyes moved from Zelda's golden hair to Link's slightly-averted blue eyes. “Oh, come now, no need for that.”

Link shifted, tapping the toes of his boots against the floor in turn and only looking up when Impa spoke. Zelda had leaned back from her hug and turned to look at who the elder Sheikah was talking to, sniffing slightly, the sensation of fresh tears on her cheeks. With a beckoning gesture from his charge, Link came forward to join Zelda in front of the Sheikah Elder and the pair were invited to sit on cushions that had been placed on the floor. They settled down, Zelda wiping away the dampness from her eyes as they watched a much younger Sheikah carry over a tray supporting a tea pot and four cups.

“This here is my granddaughter, Paya. Paya, this is the Princess of Hyrule who has been containing the calamity for the past century,” Impa explained.

Zelda laughed nervously at such an introduction, and the two women inclined their heads politely to one another. Link wasn't quite sure who was pinker in the face at the moment.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Princess. My Grandmother has told me many tales about you, and your accomplishments with researching the lost arts of the Sheikah.” 

Paya spoke quietly, but she looked proud of herself for managing to speak without stuttering. Link gave her subtle thumbs up and her blush only got deeper.

“Oh! Impa!” Zelda chastised, watching as Impa chuckled, “what have you been telling her? Oh, Paya, it is a pleasure to meet you too. I do hope we can spend some time together to get to know one another. I assure you I am not as grand as she has made me out to be. Please sit with us.”

“Th-that would be delightful, Princess, thank you!” Paya said, back straightening to improve her already perfect posture.

“Now that we are all introduced and comfortable I believe congratulations are in order first of all, and a heart felt thank you from all of us in Kakariko. Thanks to your combined efforts the Calamity is gone and this Kingdom can begin to heal.”

Zelda beamed with pride, accepting a cup of tea from Paya as the younger Sheikah finally knelt down beside her, but Link started to frown. He pointed at Zelda, eyebrows knitted together and disbelief in his eyes. 

“You disagree, Link?” Impa asked, raising one eyebrow slowly

“Yeah. I didn't do jack shit,” Link said, incredulously.

Zelda immediately snorted a laugh in an aborted motion to drink her tea while Paya's mouth fell open and she nearly suffered whiplash with how fast she turned her head to stare at Link. The knight himself could have sworn he also heard either Dorian or Cado face-palm outside the closed doors. 

Impa herself remained impassive for several seconds before a laugh built in volume until she was near enough cackling.

“Travelling all across Hyrule, battling and defeating fractures of the Calamity, freeing the Divine Beasts of their century long curse plus freeing the Princess herself is you doing … nothing?” The Sheikah Elder proposed, both eyebrows now raised as her mirth was subdued gradually.

“Well,” Link started, but a hand placed at his elbow from Zelda halted any arguments he was still trying to construct. Over her shoulder, he could see that Paya was now staring, mouth still open in shock, at her Grandmother.

 _Maybe I shoulder consider another self-imposed vow of silence,_ Link thought, before he realised how upset Zelda would be if he suddenly went back to being a mute constantly.

“Link, we did this together, as we were always meant to,” Zelda cast her sights to the side, biting her lip for a second. “We may have been about one hundred years later than expected, but we got there … eventually.”

“That you did,” Impa said. “As it is, better late than never, and I do not believe it to be fair to either of you to blame what happened on yourselves. No-one can control what fate has in store for them.”

“Yeah, but, Zelda, I couldn't be there with you when you went to confront the Calamity like I should have,” Link argued, sounding ashamed. 

“Honestly, Link, you had suffered so many wounds and you were beyond exhausted I was amazed you still had enough left in you to get me safely out of Hyrule Field,” Zelda countered, trying to sound comforting.

“It cost you one hundred years in constant stalemate with the literal incarnation of darkness and destruction. Compared to that, fighting petty clones of the original doesn't seem that hard.”

“You had no memories!”

“Only because of your quick thinking allowing me to survive and come back to you! Which is a fair compromise.”

While the Hylian pair bickered, trying to outdo each other as the best supportive friend, Paya had collected herself and given her Grandmother a cup of tea. The two Sheikah simply watched the back and forth between Princess and her Knight, a pleased smile growing on Impa's face, highlighting deep wrinkles as her joy grew. The younger of the two watched silently, face obscured behind her cup but her eyes flickered between the two Hylians in rapt attention.

Eventually, Link and Zelda petered off into an embarrassed silence as they realised they were arguing in front of the person they had come to see.

“Have you two come to an agreement of sorts?” Impa asked, not looking at the pair as she leaned down to hand her cup to Paya so she could fill it with more tea.

The once Princess of Hyrule and her Appointed Knight turned to each other and nodded resolutely, both secretly pleased by the perseverance the other exhibited for their cause. With a fresh cup of tea in hand, Impa motioned for Paya to leave them for a short while and then fixed them both with her calm eyes.

“As I understand it from your letter, there is something pertinent that you wish to discuss with me,” The Sheikah Elder prompted, after Paya had left them quietly to walk outside.

This was it, the moment was here and Zelda took a deep breath, feeling a small nudge from Link beside her. Her mind was made up, ultimately she would not be swayed, but Impa's response would still mean the world to her.

“Impa … I'm not rebuilding the monarchy.”

The cup of tea in Impa's old but steady hands paused on its way to her mouth.

“I'm afraid I'm going to need some clarification on that matter, my dear,” the Sheikah Elder said, sounding calm but the tight grip on her tea cup demonstrated otherwise.

The divine-blooded Hylian repressed a nervous fidget and decided to just get it all over with.

“I've seen what is left of Hyrule and while, yes, there are vast areas that have been destroyed and that are crumbling, the functioning towns and villages are doing just fine. Admittedly, organisation between these residential zones is lacking in some areas, and there needs to be a better system of communication between the races, but these issues can be solved by forming a council. With representatives from each region, issues can be brought forward and discussed, leading to partnerships with one another for a solution. You don't need a monarchy for that. I would serve no purpose but as a figurehead. I hold no actual power any more, Impa. I cannot force anyone to bow to me simply because I bear a title that hasn't been used in over a century, and, honestly, I think it would be insulting to try. Hyrule has survived without a monarchy for one hundred years, but it was an arrogant monarchy that nearly brought it to ruin forever.”

There was a long pause; Zelda's most trusted confidant was watching her with intense focus. Occasionally she took a sip of tea as she considered how to respond, but she had not interrupted and waited to ensure that Zelda had said all she wanted to before presenting her thoughts. 

“I can see you've given this a lot of consideration,” Impa sighed, cradling her empty cup carefully in her lap, “and I must say, I am impressed.”

A wide smile filled Impa's face and Zelda wasn't sure whether she dares to hope that she might actually be able to pull this off, or if this was the calm before the storm.

“Do you really mean that? You're not going to try to convince me to rebuild the Kingdom?”

“Good heavens, what is it with you two,” she gestured between the pair of Hylians sat before her, looking stern, “and second guessing my intentions. If you _had_ wanted to rebuild your Kingdom, as it is yours by right, then I would have made any necessary arrangements to support you. However, it soothes my heart to know that even after all this time you are still confident in your own ideals, and not some agenda you feel you must adhere to for the sake of appearances.”

Pushing herself off her tower of cushions, in a surprisingly agile manner, Impa came forward to pat Zelda on the shoulder. 

“Please try to relax now, dear, you're wound tighter than a bow string. You will always be welcome here no matter what you choose to do with your life. I'd say you've more than earned the right.”

Impa continued to totter off in search of Paya outside, no doubt by the offering statues, leaving Zelda and Link sitting on the floor staring after her. Neither could believe it had been that easy.

_Dorian has just informed me that he's on night patrol today and that I should take his bed. I'll move the kids into their own beds and go to sleep._

_I wonder what Zelda and I will do tomorrow. Things are going to be very interesting from now on._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_Apparently, the first port of call was to visit the tailors, I think Claree may have had a small heart attack when Zelda introduced herself. Clearly, the Sheikah are far more versed in the legend of the Calamity than the rest of Hyrule, for which we can be thankful._

_Now with her future fully within her control, Zelda is going full speed ahead with her desire to become a Researcher. That includes getting herself an outfit for field excursions and experiment work, and it only took Claree a week, which gave us time to introduce Zelda to all the villagers._

_Personally, I think she simply missed her old outfit, but I am the last person to judge her on aesthetic preferences._

Zelda did a twirl inside Claree’s shop, now wearing a brand new royal blue coat, styled after the clothes she used to wear outside of the Castle before the Calamity. The front of the coat fastened together as her old shirt had done, but the tails of the coat draped over the sides of her hips and down the backs of her legs. Trimmed in gold ribbon, it contrasted wonderfully with the rich colour of the main fabric, a durable cotton blend that the Sheikah textile’s master had worked a little magic into.

“I may have given it some resistances, after you told me what you would be doing in it,” Claree said, off-handedly, as she leaned over the counter to watch Zelda continue to prance around in her new outfit. “It was a good challenge; I would love to design more items for you in the future should you need any thing specific.”

The Sheikah winked, and the ecstatic Hylian in front of her nodded enthusiastically. 

“Oh absolutely, I know I most certainly will have some specifics. Quite soon, hopefully, but that depends on some things I need to speak to Link about.”

Both women turned to see Link looking a little dazed in Zelda’s direction and Claree snorted, loudly.

“Hey, Hero boy, Hyrule is calling!”

“Huh?” Link came back to himself, turning his head to Claree in confusion as she started sniggering.

“Nothing to worry about, Link, I take it you like my new coat?” Zelda asked, hiding the immense pleasure she felt at managing to catch him so off guard, and because of _her_ no less. Talk about an ego boost.

Link gave her double thumbs up with a happy smile and Zelda could almost imagine him with a furiously wagging fluffy tail.

“Excellent. Thank you once again Claree, I’m looking forward to going out into the field with this. In fact, I’m going to go right now,” she decided.

Turning on her heel, she walked briskly out of the shop and Link found himself following her on autopilot. He caught Claree waving at them as they left, smug smile still set in place and gloating eyes following Link all the way out.

Zelda’s wandering found them traversing over the grass fields outside the hills of Kakariko. The tall grasses of the Sahasra Slope swayed intermittently, and there was a constant background of soft chirping from insects and birds a-like. Admiring the view for a solid minute, they could appreciate the light reflecting off Nabi Lake ahead of them and the lax nature of nearby animals.

Following by example, Zelda knelt down and lay back into the grass, her coat fanning out around her legs. 

“I feel amazing right now,” she breathed, eyes closing, “I don’t even remember a time I felt this good.”

Link dropped down to his knees gracelessly, before flipping round to lie down on his back with a flump. A couple of disturbed dandelions shed some seeds and they drifted over Zelda’s face, causing her to scratch a sudden itch on her cheek. He placed his hands over his stomach, not needing to actually look at what his artificial hand was doing in order for it to go where it was meant to. The weight registered on his sternum and over the tune of everyday grassland wildlife he could hear the deep humming coming from within the manufactured arm.

“We used to do this a lot,” Zelda said, she sounded quiet but only because anything louder would have disturbed the natural ambience of their resting place. “Towards the end, when I realised you were not silently judging me, you would always indulge my desire to stay out of the castle for as long as possible. You never questioned my spontaneous desire to investigate a random patch of grass half way across a field. You never raised an eyebrow when I asked you reach something from a tree or a high cliff. You just … did it. Anything I asked.” Zelda tilted her face to the side to see Link staring back at her, “why did you do that?”

“Because you asked me to,” Link answered.

“You needn’t have though. It wasn’t as if you would have gotten into trouble for not following my orders, you took you’re Oath before my father, not me.”

“You asked me to, and I knew it would make you happy.”

If Link continued to be so damn honest Zelda wasn’t sure she was going to be able to keep her composure much longer. She was saved from having to respond to that statement by feeling something land on her head. It took a lot of effort to refrain from springing up into a sitting position and instead she tried to evaluate what had decided to rest in her hair. A strained noise to her right indicated that Link was in a similar position.

Tilted her head up slowly, Zelda roamed her eyes up over Links face and then up into his tousled hair. There, sitting without a care in the world, was a tireless frog. It blinked its eyes independently at her.

“You have a frog,” she said, looking back down to Links eyes.

“So do you,” he responded, “what colour is mine? Yours is green.”

“It’s a red one. Wait! Link give me the Sheikah Slate, slowly!”

With great care, and not breaking eye-contact, Link reached a hand to his side to unclip the Sheikah Slate from his hip and hand it over to Zelda.

“Scooch in a bit, I have to document this,” she said, in a hushed voice lest she disturb their visitors.

As Link shuffled over a little bit, the frog on his head started to walk down over his face. It placed a webbed foot directly over his eye, and Link stopped moving immediately while Zelda giggled.

She snapped a shot of the pair of them lying down in the grass, hearts light and souls carefree, as Link tried desperately not to shake the frog off his face and Zelda continued to laugh.

_I am a little suspicious, however. After Zelda got her new coat, she told me to step outside for a minute and I wasn’t allowed back in until she came to get me. I wonder what she was doing._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_Zelda gifted me something today. I’ve never received a gift like this before, but at least now I know why I was shoo’d out of Claree’s._

_Apparently, the idea came to her when we were discussing visits to the four nations within Hyrule. Obviously, the question of how I had managed to get into Gerudo Town was asked and I had to explain my amicable agreement with Chief Riju._

_It seems she had noticed that my affinity for pretty objects was still alive and well even after the Shrine of Resurrection. I had also told her of various times I had been complimented on my appearance when in my Vai outfit by the Gerudo. Most would have shrugged it off as a man simply basking in a woman’s attention, thankfully ~~the Princess~~ Zelda knows me better than that. _

_I was pleasantly surprised by what she gave me._

It was setting out to be a day of intermittent sunshine and showers, which meant it was a perfect excuse to stay inside and work on the house. There was a knock at the door that signalled that weeks morning post and Zelda went to answer it with a spring in her step, clearly energised from her blackberry and nettle tea. 

Opening the door she greeted the mailman warmly, who bowed good-naturedly in response. He was always happy to go a little out of the way from his regular mail route to deliver here, as he was always given such a cheerful reception. She took the bundle of correspondence from the mailman, and asked him how his wife and son were doing. Last she had asked his son was taking some sword fighting lessons, and Zelda had been of a mind to discuss it with Link but she inevitably got distracted by something else. 

After wishing the postman well, Zelda handed over the required rupees and then bid the man farewell as he started to walk back across the bridge leading away from Link and Zelda’s house. Turning back into the house she started to rifle through the various letters and small paper packages. No doubt the small packages were from Paya, containing an assortment of plant seeds she collected from around the Fairy Fountain next to Kakariko Village. The door was just about finished swinging closed when she stared at one sheaf of paper in her hands and shoved the rest of the mail onto the dinner table before darting back out of the door.

Link didn’t even have time to open his mouth to ask how the postman was.

Zelda returned just under an hour later with a package wrapped in brown paper tucked close to her chest. Setting the package down on the table, she ignored Link’s questioning gaze as she came into the house. 

While Link got up to make another pot of tea, with less nettle and more blackberry this time, Zelda was carefully peeling back the paper bundle to peek inside. She let out a appreciative noise and started to bounce on the tips of her feet. The former knight was immensely curious but trusted that she would explain when she ready. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Link?” She said, turning around in a full spin to locate him.

“Hmm?” Link responded, pausing in his measurement of dried nettle as he turned to her.

“Could you come here, please?”

Dutifully, he stopped what he was doing and came to stand beside her. She instantly started tugging at his hylian tunic.

“Take this off.”

Considering, that by this point she had asked more bizarre things of Link he only hesitated for a couple of seconds before dragging the material up and over his head, making sure to place it carefully over the back of his chair. She then grabbed him by the upper arm to drag him over to the full length mirror they had propped up against the wall next to the shield displays.

Demanding that he stay put, she went back over to the far side of the table to retrieve the still mostly wrapped package and came back. Zelda tapped her fingers rhythmically against the paper as she looked at Link over the top of the bundle in her hands.

“I need you to close your eyes.”

To this, the Champion blinked in response, beginning to become slightly wary of her intentions. A certain elixir debacle was still fresh in his mind.

“Do you not trust me?” she asked, aiming for teasing but still coming across as unsure.

“Of course I do,” Link said, quickly to assuage her fears.

“Then close your eyes!” A bright and happy smile was back on her features once more. 

Link obeyed immediately, standing before a mirror baring all his scars, in nothing but his hylian leggings. There was a loud crinkling noise and then fabric rustling to his right. He felt Zelda tap his upper arms, and then her hands gently grasping his wrists as she drew them up straight above his head.

“Stay there.”

Then fabric was being draped past his arms and over his head, at least he assumed it went over his right arm too as he could only feel it on his left. After pulling it around his chest, Zelda let the fabric fall around his hips, and Link felt her pulling at it in various places. She then moved to adjust the fabric around his arm - _arms?_ \- slipping something over the middle finger of his left hand and, he guessed, his right. Giggling, she tugged at his arms to bring them back down by his sides once more after he had left them up for no reason. Her hands then went to the back of his head, undoing his hair tie and letting his blonde tresses flow down the back of his shoulders. She fluffed his hair a bit and then placed something on his head and secured it to sit on his brow.

She fiddled with the fabric in a few more places, and drew strands of hair out from behind the object on his head.

“Ok, open your eyes.”

Whatever he had been expecting upon seeing his reflection again, he would never have imagined this. 

The fabric he had felt being draped over his form was a long ice blue tunic that fit snugly around his torso and flowed into long, loose sleeves. The sleeves gathered at the cuffs around his wrists before covering the backs of his hands in a diamond shape. He spotted a small loop of ribbon at the tip of each diamond which he put around his middle finger to secure the cover in place. The design of the sleeves meant they easily fit over his prosthetic and wouldn’t restrict his movements. The object he had felt being placed over his forehead was his own sapphire circlet which could be seen in between the strands of his hair, the main centre piece holding the stone rested against his forehead. 

“I can get you a darker coloured one so you can still beat up monsters and not have to worry about staining it. It’s just that this colour suits you,” Zelda assured, watching as Link started to swish the looser fabric around his thighs. He looked awed at his appearance before turning to Zelda sharply at her words.

“You don’t mind … this,” he gestured at his clothes and then at himself.

“I’m the one who got it for you, of course I don’t mind. If you mean, more specifically, do I mind that your attraction to pretty objects nearly rivals that of a magpie? Then that is also a no. Which is precisely why I asked Claree to make this for you. The letter I got this morning was to say it had arrived in Hateno’s Dye shop.” 

Link responded with a smile and turned back to the mirror, getting more particular with his adjustments as he truly settled into his new outfit. He looked thoughtfully at the circlet on his head before removing it and placing it down gently on the table beside them. He leaned over the table for the Slate on the other side, dragging it closer to him as he selected the headgear from the Desert Voe armour. The items appeared on the table next to the slate and Link picked up the choker, turning back to the mirror to fix it in place around his neck. Placing his hands on his hips, he admired his appearance for a few seconds before turning back to Zelda and rewarding her with a huge grin.

“Thank you.”

Zelda approached Link again, standing beside him as they both look into the mirror.

“You’re very welcome, now you don’t have to wear that Gerudo Vai outfit anymore. Don’t think I hadn’t noticed the tan, those clothes do nothing to protect you from the sun.” She paused for a moment before posing her next question. “If I may ask, why the choker?”

Link shrugged.

“I just like feeling something around my neck, it’s comforting.”

“Oh.”

If the smaller Hylian noticed Zelda look off to the side for a second, her ears a bright red, he read nothing into it. She turned back, and they inspected their reflection in contemplative silence for a couple of minutes.

“You know, you really are almost as pretty as I am. Almost.”

Link just nudged his head against hers, laughing, whilst privately thinking to himself, _no-one is prettier than you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, got the white horse and called it Ophelia before getting the quest and I didn't realise it was specifically referred to as a stallion until too late. But it fits in with the running theme I have for Link that he's terrible at naming things.
> 
> Also, DLC2 dropped yesterday so I had to upload a chapter this week and I'll have this fic finished hopefully just before Christmas. I need that bike.  
> (Also I'm so glad that some of my plans for this fic can now have some canon backup and I WILL be working in some of that DLC2 stuff in later chapters, with Zelda along for the ... ride)
> 
> Chapter art can be found [[here]](http://sarcastic-sketches.tumblr.com/post/168370151430/chapter-2-of-aftermath-ao3-now-with-her-future)


	3. Chapter 3

_Once the Princess gets a new project in mind, she is relentless._

_Following Zelda’s announcement to Impa, she's finally settling into her own skin, and in this house. We started having small discussions about potential renovations to the house and drawing up plans for her to have her own research lab. Recently, it's become an in depth project of hers as designs for distillation equipment and storage plans are starting to make an appearance on the dining table._

The initial discussions had been fairly simple; curious questions and many potential ideas that Link hadn't actually put much thought into making a reality. Apparently, Zelda had the drive and forethought to make such things possible. Coupled with the fact that Purah had lost patience waiting for ‘those two inconsiderate simpletons’ to come up to her lab, the researcher herself has snuck down into the village and nearly knocked down the front door. To say Link was impressed that someone barely three feet had nearly managed to take the door off its hinges was an understatement. The former Princess and the young Sheikah had immediately re-bonded, despite the century long absence, by bouncing ideas for house improvements off one another. Hyrule’s Champion had been content to watch from the comfort of his den under the stairs, occasionally refilling the teapot for the two brainiacs.

Sheets of paper detailing scrapped floor plans and extensions to the house now sat in a pile on the writing desk in the loft space. The more successfully argued designs were spread out on the table of the ground floor weighed down by large pieces of luminous stone. As one does, of course.

The plans depicted bold lines for the outline of the house as it currently stood, including the unused chimney spire, and then dotted lines for the loft level. Additions in Zelda’s hand, and a couple of pieces of input from Link, were scratched in later detailing item placements and room renovations. Some of the plans were of specific rooms and proposed layouts for furniture and storage. The most labelled and doctored plan was that of Zelda's potential research space, which she was planning to place in the built up space under the loft. As Link perused the plans, yet again, Zelda stood staring at the plastered walls that seemed to support the loft level and currently encased her envisioned work area.

“Link? Do you have any idea what this is?” She asked.

The Ex-Knight turned his attention to the odd structure under the loft. As far as he could tell, it was solid brickwork that had been brought in from the outer walls to support the loft that was to be built above it. The three shield displays he had bought from Bolson had been placed on the largest wall of the structure.

[Loft support?] Link ventured uncertainly, supplementing his hand signals with raised eyebrows to make it read like a question.

“See, that's what I thought, but if that were the case then why are there beam supports at the corners and across this wall here,” Zelda walked down to the section of wall that faced their under-the-stairs den and Link followed. “If this was just an extension of brickwork from the outer walls of the house for support, then there would be no need for the wooden beams.”

Link made a noise of consideration and then one of surprise as he patted the wall in front of him. He took a step forward to expect the surface of the wall more closely, noticing that the plastering texture changed about halfway for a couple of feet before returning again at the other end. Everywhere else on the inset structure had large sweeping textures, no doubt whoever had sealed in the brick work had used long and complete strokes to level out the plaster. The patch that ran from the floor to the wooden underside of the loft level above them displayed short and much smoother strokes.

[Door] Link signed succinctly before outlining a vague rectangle on the wall with his finger, and he heard Zelda clap her hands once beside him.

“My thoughts exactly, which leads me to suspect that it was once a room that later got sealed up. I wonder why?”

The pair fell into a contemplative silence for a few minutes, each coming up with their own private theories, before Link asked the obvious question by pointing at the wall and then making a short but powerful punching gesture.

“Oh, most definitely.”

The original plan had been to excavate the area under the loft from the outside, but now it seemed that there was an easier way to achieve their plans. By knocking down the wall.

It took the small Hylian about thirty minutes to locate Bolson and Karson. For once, the construction duo had not been sitting under the tree in front of their house and instead were enjoying some fresh confectioneries from the bakery in town. Link may also have spent five of the thirty minutes it took to retrieve Bolson and Karson eating some spiral pastries, but he made sure to get some extra for Zelda. He had discovered that she had an incredibly strong sweet tooth, so they were both doomed.

As he lead them back up to their house, Link informed the two construction workers of the plan to knock in the interior wall. He was surprised to find that Bolson had been equally curious what was inside the structure.

“I knew it seemed a little odd. The raised walkway around the house is made of stone we use to make roads, not houses. So why would they have built the outside wall inward? The ground around here is easy enough to dig up so it's not as if the house had to be built _around_ something,” Bolson said.

Link merely shrugged, he wasn't about to pretend he knew anything to do with masonry or building work.

As the trio walked into the house, they spotted Zelda inspecting the wooden vertical beams at the corners of the internal walls. Her intense gaze would fix on the wood grain, follow it up to the underside of the loft and then follow it along the top edge. A slight tilt of her head and her fingers tapped rhythmically against the upper part of her crossed arms. The building plans that had before been open and weighed down on the table were now rolled up tightly. The door creaked as it closed, like it always does, and Zelda straightened up before turning around to greet her visitors.

“Hello, you must be Bolson,” she said, coming forward to shake the man's hand and then she turned to the younger Hylian that had accompanied him. “And you must be Karson. Pleasure to meet you both, my name is Zelda. I trust Link has already explained our situation?”

“He has indeed,” Bolson confirmed, a genuine smile on his face at such a warm introduction, “and it shouldn't be a problem for us. Might take a couple of days to make sure we don't remove anything load bearing in the process, but assuming that there was a door in place already it should be a simple job.”

A knocking sound could be heard from the space under the stairs and Karson's voice drifted out.

“Doesn't sound hollow but there is definitely a different build material here. It was most likely added in later.”

“Okie do, in that case we can get started as soon as possible. I would advise you to not stay here while we work though. So, when would be convenient for you two?”

Zelda and Link looked at each other, the latter of the two shrugging in response to the silent question that passed between them. The researcher turned back to Bolson, who was now rejoined by Karson, and clasped her hands together in front of her.

“We're also planning some other … adjustments to the house,” Zelda said, slowly, one of her hands now drifting back towards the table to her side.

“Oh?” Bolson prompted, raising an eyebrow with his easy going smile growing, “and what do you have in mind for these 'adjustments'?”

Placing her hand down on the table she felt her finger alight around a scroll of well worn paper. She brought up the roll of plans swiftly in front of her to hand to Bolson.

“I'm so glad you asked.”

_Turns out Zelda isn't the only one who gets slightly manic with the idea of a new project in their hands. Bolson was equally enthusiastic about the idea of renovating the house and has since given his own suggestions, pointing out that the wooden shed at the back could be connected to the house and used for mass storage which would save space inside._

_He estimates that he can have the whole lot done in about two weeks, but that the job – in his words- 'would not be cheap'._

_I asked if he accepted payment in lumps of ruby and I'm not sure who started to laugh first, Zelda or Karson. Apparently, I was now well known for my trading using chucks of rare gemstone for various items across the village. Turns out, Bolson is partial to sapphires._

  
Link and Zelda’s Floor Plan

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_While Bolson construction worked on the house, Zelda and I took an extended trip to gather research materials for her new workshop. I never realised how pleasing it would be to see her so excited._

_She could barely contain herself when we left. She wanted to go everywhere at once. I can't wait to ask Purah about using Shrine Teleportation with more than one person, but for the mean time we're travelling the old fashioned way._

Coat tails of a deep brilliant blue rippled along a breeze that blew past a golden-haired Hylian as she trekked up into the mountainous region of Lanayru. A shorter Hylian stayed close behind her, his bright blue tunic embroidered with white stood out in a stark contrast from the muted stone colours and dark greens surrounding them. One of his arms was bare save for a bandage wrapped around his forearm and a dark brown fingerless glove. His other arm was made of a dark material, decorated with swirling patterns of pale sandstone, and was clearly visible. In between the relief designs an amber glow shifted and flickered, complimenting the static blue illumination peeking through the joints of the mechanical limb. The pair made an unusual sight among the highlands of Lanayru. They had been travelling for about five days, with no clear destination in mind only to eventually venture into Zora's Domain, they meandered and gathered any materials that caught their eye.

Zelda lead the way, looking down at the Sheikah Slate she clutched in front of her chest, and Link followed a couple of steps behind; a nostalgic echo for the lands of Hyrule one hundred years prior.

“I will have to record what combinations and quantities of materials produce which elixirs and how long they last for. Also, I need to note their potency. Gosh, that's a lot of combinations, especially if I can manage to get the dual effects to work in a single elixir.”

Link wasn't sure if Zelda was actually speaking _to_ him or if she was happy to talk to herself. _Then again,_ he thought as he watched her swipe hurriedly through the Hyrule Compendium, _she's probably used to speaking to herself even in my presence anyway for all the good it used to do her._

He therefore decided to make an effort and actually respond to her.

“Actually, the Slate does that for you.”

Zelda actually stopped walking, her forefinger paused on the screen of the Sheikah Slate, as she heard him speak. She turned to look over her shoulder in surprise. _She was speaking to herself._

“It does what, now?”

“The Slate, it … calculates those things whenever I make an elixir and add it to my inventory,” Link explained, only now just realising that this was a function the Slate had built into it. Zelda's facial expression seemed to suggest that she hadn't been aware of such a function at all.

“That is incredibly useful,” she paused, “it also saves you from having to down a lot of elixirs.”

“What?” Link asked, completely blind sided by her comment but she was already turning back around to continue walking.

“I wonder who it was that programmed the Slate to do that, and why? Could it be that my predecessor instructed for this tool to be made by the Sheikah in order to aid her Hero? Or was it something that was added subsequently?” She shook her head, clearing her mind of various hypothesis she continued to conjure. “In either case it's becoming abundantly clear that this Slate was intended as a utility device for the Hero to use. The runes, the access to the Shrines, and the safeguarding of the four Divine Beasts, not to mention it's capacity to hold hundreds of items of various size and weight while on the move. Oh, I do wish there were _some_ records from all those years ago, but if the Sheikah themselves have nothing I doubt we'll be able to find anything by ourselves.”

Zelda sighed.

This was precisely why she was slowly working on her idea to create a giant resource stronghold for all sorts of academia and records, to be protected through the ages. While Ganon appeared to have lost his final gambit and thus his ability to reincarnate, she was well aware that he had not been the only wielder of the dark forces to threaten Hyrule. Should a time come for the Divine Beasts to be used once again she was going to make sure their future was well armed with knowledge. She knew, ideally, where this stronghold would have to be. It was the only place that made sense.

“Link? How well fortified do you suppose the Castle is now?”

He was constantly amazed by how quickly she managed to go from one conversation to a completely separate one, but he knew that in her mind they were connected. She had slowed down to allow him to catch up and start to walk by her side as he focused inwardly, recalling the state of the Castle the last time he had been there.

“Monster wise, probably not very. I've noticed that there are less monsters camped out in the open or near the roads. I doubt there are many still within the Castle now that we've dealt with the … infestation.”

Zelda's lips twitched upward.

“Structurally, the Castle wasn't too bad. Some of the walls need rebuilding, and various rooms and hallways had collapsed, but the majority is still good. The walls and gatehouses are still standing too.” Link sped up a little so that when he was walking ahead of Zelda he could turn, walk backwards and give her a questioning look. “Why? Are you thinking about going back?”

“Not just yet,” she admitted, slowing down her pace so Link didn't accidentally trip over a rock even though she was positive he weird sixth sense would kick in before that happened. “I am considering having the castle restored and then used as a repository for information. Books, maps, records, data, research notes, all of it could be kept there and even maybe the place could become a place of learning. Anyone from the Kingdom could come to read, learn, or expand on knowledge we already have. A research institution.”

Zelda's gaze had drifted off to look over the scenery around them while she spoke but when she looked back she could see an excited smile on Link's face.

“I take it you support the idea. The place will need to be well protected too, so new Guards will need to be trained.” She stared rather pointedly at her previous Knight. He blinked at her a couple of times before bringing a hand up to point at himself, eyes wide. “Well, yes, ideally it would be you I would ask to train them, assuming I can devise a solid plan as to how the place will operate, of course. So, what do you say?”

Link gave it some serious consideration but, ultimately, he knew what his answer would be. Now that he was no longer required as the Princess' appointed knight he was worried that he would simply stagnate and rust away. The plan to restore the Castle into a place where ideas could be cultivated and encouraged was laced with enough irony that Link couldn't help but be delighted. This would give him a long-running purpose and it was something he could work towards. With no more shrines he lacked the promise of challenges to come, so teaching new recruits would fulfil that desire. Circumventing a boulder that almost clipped his ankles, he nodded.

“I imagined you would, but it's still polite to ask. Oh, and while I'm already asking for favours...” Zelda drifted off as she came to a stop which led to Link coming to an abrupt stop as well. He became immediately suspicious when Zelda pressed her hands together in front of her face and gave him her best, and most persuasive, smile. “You agreed you would help me with my research and accompany me on trips, does that include being a tester for any elixirs I create?”

_I fear for my imminent future, but I can't say that I'm not a little excited to see what happens - and I did say I was willing to be her test subject. I trust her not to kill me. While we were in the area we finally got around to visiting Zora's Domain._

The sun was directly over the ravine that protected the Zora's homeland with cliffs of iridescent smooth rock. The rays of light from the sky diffracted off the outcrops of polished stone, worn down from years of relentless downpour in the wet seasons of Lanayru, to create a blue and purple tint over the land below. Coupled with the naturally luminescent minerals in this province and the aesthetic additions by the Zora, the Domain managed to calm the soul merely by gazing upon it.

“This place hasn't changed a bit, still as beautiful and serene as it was one hundred years ago. I do hope His Majesty Dorephan is doing well. I'm glad to see that the Domain managed to be spared from the onslaught of the Guardians. I wonder if the Guardians have an aversion to water” Zelda pondered, peering up at the giant fish themed structure that stood proudly atop the royal palace as they walked over the Great Zora bridge.

“One got close but King Dorephan himself took care of that. He threw it into a ravine,” Link told her, a small grin appearing on his face and missing the concerned look growing on Zelda's face.

“Does it ever hurt to come here?” Zelda asked, “I mean, this place was very nearly your home.” She placed a hand on Link's shoulder softly, bringing them to a stop on the bridge, “plus, King Dorephan would have been your father-in-law.”

Link managed to nearly choke on air, completely taken by surprise as his ears tilted down and became a furious shade of red. “H-How do you know about that?”

Zelda gave him a look that said, 'Link, please, who do you think I am?'

“I saw the Zora Armour in the Slate's inventory, Link. I know what it means,” she gave him a bittersweet smile, “and I know she loved you very much. We all knew.”

Link looked away, eyebrows coming together and eyes narrowing.

“Did … did I ever acknowledge it? Did I ever … say anything about it?”

“Not to me,” Zelda sighed, giving Link's shoulder a supportive squeeze before letting him go, “I'm sorry.”

He sighed but smiled gratefully none-the-less, nodding his head towards the heart of the Domain.

“Come on, no doubt Sidon has spotted us and is wondering why we've stopped half way.”

“Is that the good-looking Prince you told me about, hmm? Mipha's little brother?”

“Zelda, please, and he's hardly _little_.”

“Not to worry, I was raised a Princess, I will be on my best behaviour.”

_I should never have introduced Prince Sidon to Zelda. Those two get on far too well and that spells trouble for me. Now she has back up. Great time for you to finally learn what friendly teasing is, Sidon._

“Good lord, you were not kidding,” Zelda murmured into Link's ear as they approached the Prince by the main entrance to the Domain. The tall red Zora stood strong and proud as he waited patiently for them at the other end of the bridge.

“I did warn you,” Link hissed back before beaming up at the towering shark Prince.

“Link!” Sidon greeted, arms wide, “it's absolutely wonderful to see you my dear friend, and who, might I ask, is this wonderful flower?”

He was already bowing towards Zelda before he could see Link nearly shove his entire fist into his mouth, eye wide, as his shoulders started to shake. Zelda herself was fighting off a massive grin and instead allowed herself a wide smile and inclined her head in return.

“Why thank you, Prince Sidon, I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Link has told me much about you. In answer to your question, however, you may call me Zelda,” she extended her hand to shake one of Sidon's clawed ones.

“Zelda, what a spectacular-,” Sidon paused, eyes going wide all of a sudden, hands still carefully encompassing Zelda's as he stared at here. Then it clicked. “Link!”

The embarrassed Prince rounded on the small Hylian who was now clutching his knees in an attempt to stay vaguely upright as he laughed with tears in his eyes. Zelda just looked bemused by the whole situation, inwardly wondering how she would be able to get Link to laugh like that again.

“Link, this is most unfair of you. You could have at least sent word ahead that you would be arriving with the PRINCESS OF HYRULE!”

“Say … it louder … Sidon … there might … be Zoras who … didn't … hear you,” the hysterical Hylian gasped, still trying to control his hysteria while Sidon pouted and folded his arms petulantly.

“I apologise, Prince Sidon,” Zelda placated, “I should have warned you, but I don't come here as the Princess of Hyrule, I am here as a friend of Link’s. Only I would like to have a word with your father if that is convenient?”

“Oh absolutely, your high- ahem, excuse me, Zelda... friend of Link,” Sidon said, smiling down warmly at the pair of Hylians, “right this way, I will escort you there myself.”

With a bright grin and his signature pose of determination, Sidon turned on his heel to lead them to his father and Zelda was struck with such sudden nostalgia that it almost brought a tear to her eye. She was able to avoid causing a scene as Link shared a look between them that promised a humorous discussion later before they followed the Zora Prince. As they passed the guards, Rivan and Dunma, on duty by the archway Link saluted to them both, but he was surprised to see Rivan's eyes widen when he saw who was with him. Halfway through a salute in return, Rivan changed the gesture in favour of placing his fist over his chest and standing to attention, head bowed. Link was just as confused as Dunma by his actions but he heard Zelda gasp next to him and he turned in time to see her place an open hand over her heart and bow her head towards him in response.

“I can't believe the Zora here still remember that. Zora longevity is truly amazing,” Zelda said in a hushed voice as they walked further into the Domain. She saw Link staring at her with eyebrows raised in silent query. “It was the customary greeting for members of the Hylian Royal Family, and I gave what was considered the respectful response in return.”

Her companion gave a silent 'oh' in reply before turning his head forward again to follow their guide, not that either of them needed one. As they began to climb the wide staircase that led up to the Zoran Throne Zelda started to twist her fingers together. Luckily, she noticed the nervous habit herself before Link did and she tucked her fingers together in front of her. Regardless, Link could practically feel the tension radiating from her and he felt compelled to comfort her but before the pair knew it they were all standing in front of King Dorephan.

The gigantic King was sat back in his throne, his long tail wrapped around his back and the fluke resting to the side of him. He eyed his son with mixed interest and curiosity before letting his gaze roam over to two Hylians he'd brought in with him. One he fondly appraised instantly and the other...

“Father, I bring with me-” but Sidon stopped as he saw clear recognition on his father's face. He need not say more.

“Princess? Princess Zelda, please tell that it is truly you I see before me,” King Dorephan implored, leaning forward in his chair.

“It is, King Dorephan. I am so happy to see that you are doing well, and thank you _so much_ for everything you have done to aide Link in his trials since he awoke,” Zelda assured. She did not register the tears that had finally escaped to run down her cheeks, nor did she notice Prince Sidon slowly retreating backward towards her companion.

“Oh, my dear Princess. It soothes my heart to know that you are safe once again. Come closer, I believe we have much to discuss,” King Dorephan said, sounding relieved and an easy smile stretched across his face as he relaxed back into his chair. Zelda began to approach when she felt the keen absence of Link by her side and turned around to see where he was. She located him still standing behind her with Sidon standing next to him; one of his clawed hands was resting on Link's mechanical shoulder.

“Link and I will be outside, I am a very demanding friend I'm afraid and I don't get much opportunity to catch up. We'll give you some peace,” Sidon explained, and Muzu, who had been standing by the throne hidden until now, nodded his head in approval.

Before either of the Hylians parted they shared a silent conversation; Zelda asking with a raised but tense eyebrow whether he was comfortable with this. Link reassured her with a minute nod and an open, unguarded expression. She gave him an appreciative smile in return Zelda before transferring her attention to King Dorephan, while Link and Sidon walked down the staircases to stand by the statue of Mipha.

Sidon was briefly accosted by Laflat, on the way, so he could answer some questions about the new routes that were now accessible as the waterways had become safer, which allowed Link to walk on ahead and disengage for a moment. Looking up at Mipha's face immortalised in stone, he let himself have a moment to search for a presence he had not consciously felt since his battle with Ganon.

 _Mipha, are you still here or are you free now?_ his eyes were on the statue but his gaze was inward, searching for a voice that he selfishly hoped was still there. _I have no idea whether defeating Ganon allowed you to finally be at peace or if you're still tied to me. While I don't begrudge your company, far from it, I can't help but feel ill at ease that you might be stuck here when you deserve to be at peace. No. You deserve to be alive._

Before Link's thought could turn sour and down a path of self recrimination he felt an itch build along his left elbow. Peering down at his arm and turning it around with his other hand, he was able to see a small burn he'd acquired from a cooking accident turn white and then fade away entirely. He stared at the spot where the burn had been; not even a smooth pale scar was left in its wake, only untarnished skin.

_Mipha?_

“Apologies, Link, but with your efforts at Hyrule Castle we're finally able to re-open our trade routes with the rest of the Kingdom. We can start rebuilding our outposts that we lost further down the Zora River and re-colonising Lake Hylia.”

The Prince was obviously very excited so Link looked up at Mipha's statue one last time before he turned away and gave the approaching Prince his full attention. As soon as the tall Zora started speaking again, however, Link wished his attention was elsewhere.

“Now then, my dear friend, I can see you have the Princess back with you now. Does that mean you two are now a mated pair?”

Link's heart nearly gave out as his mind went horrifyingly blank. _Sidon, what the f-_

“I only ask because of the conversation we had together the last time you were here, and you both seem very close. You were able to have a conversation just now completely non-verbally using only your eyes. That is a sign of a deep bond between two individuals, where their souls can communicate for them. Did you confess as soon as she returned or has it been more recent?”

“Sidon … Zelda is way out of my league...” Link said, weakly, trying desperately not to drop to the floor as his legs were refusing to obey his desire to run from this conversation. The Prince tilted his head, his head fin trailing over his shoulder on one side.

“I'm afraid I do not understand this 'league' that you speak of, but perhaps you are intimidated by her status? She is of a Royal breed.”

“Can you stop talking about us like we're dogs?” Link asked, his voice near failing him already.

“I'm sorry my friend, but Hylian courting is very strange. But if you forgive my use of this analogy for convenience sake, then I suppose you would believe yourself to be of a … lesser breed?”

Sidon didn't seem to even be talking directly to Link any more and was instead trying to explain the situation to himself. Link tilted his head back with a groan, eyes rolling skyward but Sidon was trying. _Bless him._ Putting his hands over his face, driving his forefingers into the space between his eyes and the bridge of his nose, he braced himself for what was to come.

“I am some mutt that someone took in out of pity,” the small Hylian decided, drawing his hands away from his face and righting his posture.

“Oh nonsense,” Sidon rebutted, the scales around the base of his head crest crinkled slightly. “You are a loyal guard dog, from a long line of pedigree defenders of the Kingdom. I think that would be a good match don't you?”

The 'loyal guard dog' didn't get a chance to respond because at that moment both of them heard a voice coming from behind Sidon.

“I heard the word pedigree, are you thinking of getting a dog, Link? I'll say now I'm partial to Hylian Retrievers. They're so well behaved and they're excellent protectors,” Zelda side stepped around Sidon, looking from the red scaled Prince, to the now nearly equally red faced Hylian. “Link, are you alright?”

“Oh yes, he's fine,” Sidon assured, drawing Zelda's attention to him while he gave Link a pat on the head, “he's just embarrassed that he's been caught out on his plan.”

“Oh!” She turned back to Link, “in that case, if you are seriously considering it please take me with you to get a pup. I haven't seen a puppy since the one Father got when I was a child.”

Link could do little more than sign an affirmative signal before he hid his entire face in his hands again, ears pricked all the way back, radiating heat. He was still able to hear Sidon's desperate attempts to not laugh at his predicament though.

_I do think it's done Zelda good to see the Domain. Dorephan was apparently quick to welcome her back warmly, just as I knew he would, and she's now knee deep in the waters of the Veiled Falls. I think she's trying to catch more frogs, as if she hasn't already harassed their population enough._

_I'm glad she has made some good friends here too. Laflat caught sight of her and was adamant that they walk and talk together for she was a great admirer of hers. I've noticed Zelda often gets extremely confused when people have favourable opinions of her, I hope with time I can convince her that these opinions are well earned._

_I may have had to give her a bit of a push towards Laflat, but in the end she was able to make good ties with the Zora here, many of whom are in Sidon’s little fan club. She told me and I quote “as much as I enjoy your company, Link, I must say, I am very happy to finally have some female friends.”_

_I decided not to comment._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

_Bolson construction have really outdone themselves this time. Apparently, Bolson mentioned the project to Hudson who immediately came over all the way from Tarrey Town. That man loves to build._

_I genuinely thought Zelda was going to start crying with joy when she saw the new lab they had excavated out from the sealed up room under the loft space. They even managed to extend it out through the raised cobblestones surrounding the side of the house… but something strange happened when I tried to walk into the room though._

_I knew there was a reason I saved this house._

Approaching their home on foot, incredibly tired but in fantastic spirits, the two Hylians noticed that neither Bolson or Karson were in the area. The place looked immaculate, too.

Coming to a stop at the end of the bridge, Zelda turned to Link with a confused expression and he shrugged in response. There didn’t appear to be any active work currently going on in or around the house, but the pair had spent a bit longer roaming the countryside and staying in Zora’s Domain than they had originally planned. They were not sure if the Sheikah Slate had a capacity limit for how much of one item it could store, but they were surely testing it’s limits with how many materials they had collected.

While Zelda headed for the front door, Link skipped around the side of the house to check the back, noticing that the ground felt spongy underfoot as if it had been dug up recently. _Nobody here, huh._ Jogging back to the front door, Link spotted a strange looking pipe coming out of the ground and going into the side of his house. Assuming it was a piece of construction he carried on to stand beside Zelda in front of the still closed door. Breathing in, they both walked into the house.

It was exactly has Zelda had detailed in her floor plan.

Right in front of them stood an open fire place; a metal grate a foot high had been placed around the front just before the hearth, to protect from the naked flames that were, thankfully, absent. From their viewpoint, standing in the open front doorway, the pair of Hylians spotted two new doors leading into repurposed rooms from the main area. One door was on the side wall near the back.

As Link skidded over to pull the door open, he could confirm that it led into the previously unused extension on the side of Links house. It was now a mini bath house, with slate stone flooring and a bath that dipped into the ground enabling the whole place to act as a wet room. He spotted a note pinned to one of the wooden shelves against the back wall. Walking forward to unpin the paper and read the words he realised it hadn’t just been Bolson Construction that had been involved with remodelling the house.

Hey Link.

I heard that this room was your idea? Go figure, I’m surprised you didn’t move to Zora’s Domain before the Calamity, but having you here in Hateno is convenient so I’ll move on.

This house is in a good spot - otherwise I couldn’t have gotten this to work as well as I did! You’re situated right over free flowing water, but not only that, the water has been filtered through porous rock. It was a simple matter to install a pump system that can bring water from the river below up into this room. There’s a valve by the pipe in the wall, release the pressure and the water gets sucked up into the bath. Cool right!? Anyway, you guys owe me big time, don’t forget who you’re favourite Sheikah is~

Purah x

Looking up around the room, Link could easily spot the Zoran inspired architecture, no doubt courtesy of Hudson who had been spending time with the elderly Zora, Kapson, now residing in Tarrey Town. The polished luminous stone lamps stood on shelves dotted about the walls, and he could see the valve Purah had mentioned in her note. He had to contain a happy squeak at the idea that he could just relax in water, whenever he wanted, _in_ his own house.

“I love Bolson,” Link declared, leaning back out of the bath house while still clinging to the door.

“Likewise,” came Zelda’s voice from the room behind the second door they had spotted earlier.

The room Zelda had chosen to investigate had been the wooden shed at the back of Link’s house, and was now their storage room, already it was filled with chests containing a variety of different tools, materials, and perishables.

“We also need to thank Purah at some point,” Link said, handing her the note he found in the bath room. Zelda skimmed over it before clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle a bark of laughter.

“She never was very subtle, but yes I suppose we _do_ owe her for this,” she agreed, waving the piece of paper in her hands as she returned to the main room to put it on the dining table. She drummed her fingers against the surface, refusing to look over towards the space by the stairs. Link stood beside her, switching his focus from the back of her head to the stairs and then back again, an excited grin growing on his face.

“Zelda….”

“I know!” She said, straightening up, “I know, it’s just… this room is going to be very important to me and I still can’t quite believe that I am in a position where I get to have this.”

“Trust me, I know,” Link assured, holding onto her upper arms gently as he steered her towards the space under the stairs. “When I got the memory of your Father belittling you for your interest in the Sheikah technology, I very nearly went back to the Great Plateau and demand he come back just so I could chew him out.”

“Link, he’s the King you can’t do that!” Zelda said, scandalised.

“He’s a ghost, what’s he going to do? Haunt me?”

She shrugged her shoulders and nodded slightly, conceding the point. “We mustn’t forget though, he was probably under just as much stress as we were to oversee the prophecy to completion. He was just trying to keep me focused.”

“Oh, sure, just at the cost of your own self worth and happiness,” Link replied, not even trying to hide his scathing tone. Zelda poked him in his side and he quickly twitched away from her.

“In hindsight, I’m almost glad you didn’t talk in the Castle. I dread to think what would have happened had some of your thoughts slipped out.”

“They wouldn’t kill me,” he said, smirking and Zelda almost gaped at such an expression on his face, “I was the Hero, remember? Couldn’t risk me dying.”

She turned to him with a finger raised ready to challenge his point, only to close her mouth with a click of her jaw and lower her hand. “You know, that’s actually a good point; a rather terrifying one but a fantastic point nonetheless. The potential power you held with your position could have been incredibly advantageous.”

“I was joking, but now I feel it was an opportunity wasted. Still, I don’t think my loyalty would have allowed me to do anything treasonous, it would have been pretty ingrained by then.”

“It isn’t now?” Zelda asked, coyly, only intending it to be an off-hand comment. She had not expected Link’s response.

“I am loyal to you, not the King.” He said it so easily that she had nothing to respond with and was incredibly thankful that he seamlessly turned the conversation back to their original topic, “come on, I want to see your new lab!”

He began to lightly tug at her arm, leaning towards the space under the loft; she couldn’t help herself when leaned in the opposite direction.

“You’re like a child!”

“Growing up sucks, anyway. I’m dying here, Zelda, please.”

Eventually, she relented, moving past Link to walk under the loft by the stairs, noticing that their haphazard den was no more. She felt a twinge of sorrow at its loss but she knew there was now a bigger bed up in the loft. They could both easily make that into a makeshift nest with their alarming amount of pillows and blankets. She turned her attention to the new door in the wall that was facing where their den used to be. The door that her new lab was hidden behind. She pushed the door inward and stuck her head in.

“Oh my gosh, yes,” she hissed under her breath, walking into the room fully as she surveyed the room.

Bolson Construction had managed to extend the room through the stone wall surrounding the house and inset a bay window which overlooked the stable and the pond. She could see Geoffrey and Ophelia nibbling at bales of hay in their stalls, their ears twitching as meandering bees investigated them before becoming disinterested. Plenty of flowers grew all around the land by the house, the bees would be able to find a suitable spot soon, and now Zelda would be able to cultivate more plants.

Her new work benches were placed along the wall directly under the window, continuing into the corners of the room and along the side walls for a short stretch. Small shelves had been placed above her benches, where she could store her tools and eventual finished creations. Her books and field research notes could be placed in the bookshelf that formed a corner unit opposite the door, with a tall set of drawers beside it that she planned to house her materials sorted into alphabetical order. Or by elixir effect, she wasn’t sure yet.

“Isn’t this amazing?” Zelda asked, rotating on the spot to take in her new work space, “I can even see my extraction equipment like I had in the Royal Ancient Lab going in that corner. I’m glad I drew up plans for a new unit, but I still need to ask Purah for some opinions.” She couldn’t wait to get started, here in an area specifically for her use, in Link’s house. Even though he had told her countless times that it was _their_ house, she still couldn’t shake the fundamental idea that this was Link’s home, and yet he allowed her to modify it. She spent another couple of minutes gazing out of the window, leaning on the work bench in front of it, before pushing herself away and turning to face the door. In the doorway, stood Link, completely still having not moved an inch since she entered the room with him following just behind her. “Link?”

He didn’t hear her, he couldn’t hear her, for all of his senses were suddenly taken back to a time a century before.

This room had once had a double bed in it, a cabinet for clothes, a chest at the bottom of the bed for weapons and armour, and a dressing table against the far wall. This room had once belonged to his parents. The memory was not clear like the ones prompted by the images in the Sheikah Slate, but it provided him with thoughts and feelings from his former self. This is where he had gone when he needed comforting, and yet he never actually went inside the room. He would wait patiently by the door and a safe presence would come to him, bringing him inside. The room had one day turned cold and empty but he decided he wasn’t going to focus on that, instead returning to the time of warmth and security.

“This … this was my parent’s room. I used to live here.” Link’s focus returned and blue eyes flicked up to meet green as Zelda stared at him, her mouth slightly open. He suddenly gave a small giggle, “I slept in the loft, that’s how they knew I used to sneak out at night. They could hear the boards creaking above them. I had never put the two together as a child.”

Zelda’s eyes softened as she approached him. It was a relief to know that he had recalled a happy memory associated with his family, and seeing him look so utterly amazed filled her with warm and fuzzy feelings. He had never really mentioned it, but she had to imagine that the complete and utter loss of his parent’s existence within his mind must bring him great turmoil. But in true Link fashion, he found a way to cope with it himself as to not worry her. She placed a hand gently on his arm, rubbing up and down slowly as he basked in this new knowledge. Eventually, he shook himself out it.

“Sorry, haven’t had one of those in a while,” he grinned at her crookedly, “want to show me around, again?”

Zelda was only too happy to oblige, and while she was a little put out that he had once again shelved such an important piece of his psyche away, she could see that he was still buoyed by the revelation. It stayed with him for the rest of the day. After all, he had come home.

  
Zelda’s Distillation Equipment

_Of course, now that Zelda has her research lab she can finally get started on her many long awaited projects. I now understand Purah’s rather cryptic comment regarding Princess Zelda having ‘dibs’ on me as her ‘guinea pig’. ‘Guinea pig’ turns out to be a term used for a test subject and ‘dibs’ means she got her claim in before anyone else._

_It seems her curiosity about my replacement arm could not be held off for long._

Link was sitting on Zelda’s new workbench, in nothing but his under-shorts and shoulders relaxed as the researcher in front of him eyed his prosthetic arm closely.

“This really is incredibly intricate but outstandingly robust,” she said, running her forefinger over the designs of his upper arm section. “I will have to ask Robbie how he managed to make this material so malleable whilst still retaining its complexity.”

“He made a machine … oven thing, that he called Cherry. It operates construction for him to save time,” Link told her, raising his arm when she prompted him to do so by tapping the underside of his elbow.

“Interesting, then he must have calculated and constructed the blueprints himself. You are lucky that man has such outlandish ideas,” she said, looking at him shrewdly.

He heaved a huge sigh in response, rubbing the hair on the back of his head which for once was not in its customary ponytail. He jumped slightly when Zelda’s fingers than began to trace over the scars that radiated out from his shoulder. The actual join of mechanical parts and organic tissue was hidden beneath a dark blue fabric that Robbie and Purah had integrated with his skin. The idea had freaked him a little bit at first, but now it just felt like a permanent bandage. As Zelda’s exploration of his skin started to trail over the edges of his scars he jolted when she encountered an area that had sensation in it.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, quickly whipping her hand away, ears perked straight up and blushing, “I was in my own world there.”

Link gave her a thumbs up and a reassuring smile, before beginning to poke the area of skin she had found.

“It is incredible, though, just how much damage those Guardians can achieve,” Zelda appraised, returning to investigate the scarred tissue of Link’s collar bone. “Your arm was completely vaporised and the residual energy given off from the blast was enough to sear the tissue around the point of impact. Tell me when you can feel me poking you.”

The next quarter of an hour was spent with Link sitting comfortably, now crossed legged, on the wooden work bench, with Zelda’s fingers flitting over his skin. She was able to determine where the boundaries of his skin sensitivity were, and do some quick sketches of the joints and designs into her notebook.

“I wonder how much pressure or weight it can handle? Then again, any force you impart on it will no doubt stress the joint it connects to.” Zelda looked up at Link for confirmation receiving a nod in reply, before looking back down at the overlapping plates curving over his shoulder joint. “I wonder if he used the shoulder joint that remained or constructed a completely new one and installed that instead. I’ve also noticed that the light this arm gives off will increase and decrease depending on your own energy levels. This leads me to believe that the energy of the ancient flame powering this prosthetic is intrinsically tied with your own metabolism. I know this is futile question for you,” Link raised an eyebrow at her, completely lost, “but do you find you become hungrier after you fire a blast from this arm?”

Only now giving it some thought, he concluded that yes he did often become incredibly peckish once he had attacked using energy from his mechanical limb. He nodded, realising that he was getting hungry now.

“Fascinating, how in the three aspects did Robbie pull that off? Or maybe it was Purah, she was always more invested in the Ancient Flame itself.” Zelda jotted down some more notes in her book, before lifting herself up to sit on the bench on Link’s right, taking his arm in her hands. “If this is the same material that composes the hull of the Guardians, I would imagine that it carries the same resistances as those machines. They seem to have travelled across all manner of terrains, including ice and molten rock, I’m curious as to what other things they are resistant too.”

“Not sand, that’s for fucking sure,” Link muttered under his breath.

“Excuse me?” Zelda asked, coming out of her intense study to look up at his scowling face. He brightened quickly at her attention.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’d be happy to stress test my arm … though, I still don’t think I want to stick my hand in lava. But, I’d be lying if I said I haven’t already considered it,” Link mused, thinking back to the conversation he’d had with Yunobo while he was still hunting Shrines. Zelda was silent for a moment pondering that particularly line of thought before an idea struck her.

“Hey, Link,” she asked slowly, with said man instantly on high alert, “how good is your shock tolerance?”

_I believe it is a testament to my foolishness that my immediate reaction was not to run from the room but instead meet her question about my personal shock resistance as a challenge. A challenge my muscles will no doubt scream at me for tomorrow._

_We have at least determined you can in fact build up a tolerance given how many times I have been electrocuted in my life._

\----------------------------▲▲▲----------------------------

__

_Link has trusted me to write an entry for the events of today lest he forget once he has 'recovered'. I will put this in writing now, to be forever immortalised._ _Link, I am very sorry!_ _I had no idea that combining those two ingredients would create such a side effect. In hindsight, it probably was not wise to test such things directly on you without prior experimentation first. You did agree though._ _I will now move on to document the various tests conducted today and their results. Some were less expected than others._

**Magnesis**

The subject donned the Hylian Soldier gear, which is comprised entirely out of metal and I am told acts as an excellent lighting rod. Reminder to enquire about this further. I have already concluded that the Magnesis rune can not be activated on an object the wielder is directly touching - no doubt it effects the targeting of the Sheikah Slate. However, it can be circumvented by activating Magnesis on an object beneath something I am standing on. I need to work on my balance to perfect this technique.

Magnesis can in fact be used to lift up a person if enough metal is supporting them, and there does not appear to be any sort of weight restriction. However, with additional mass comes an increased reaction time between moving the slate and moving the affected object.

I must record that I experienced temporary deafness today when the subject implored that I not drop them into the pond.

 **Stasis**  
It became apparent that Stasis does in fact work on Hylians, much to the subject surprise. It also works at quite the distance when said subject tried to ~~escape~~ evade further tests. However, I can conclude that the duration of Stasis is affected heavily by the energy and willfulness of the individual it is used on.

A blanket ban has been agreed on for the use of Stasis on people.

 **Speed + Endurance**  
I have been attempting to combine elixir effects and I believe that I have managed to accomplish the task with specific ingredients. It appears some effects simply cannot exist in tandem no matter how many binding reagents I use.

A combination of Hot-Footed and Tireless Frogs produces an elixir that can boost both speed and endurance. The results of consuming the elixir caused the subject run much faster than naturally possible and for an extended amount of time. Due to the potency of the concoction, however, its effects did not last for long. I fear that increasing the duration of the elixir would actually cause subsequent stress and potential damage to the subject.

They responded that they were ‘bloody shattered’ once the effects wore off.

 **Endurance + Healing**  
The combination of a Hearty Lizard and a Tireless Frog created an elixir that led to continuous healing for a set period of time. The duration of the elixir can be altered depending on the magical strength of the monster part catalyst.

The subject had been willing to also test the potency of the elixir, but increasing the amount of damage the subject would have to go through to test such a thing was not advisable.

 **Fireproof + Strength**  
The innate fiery nature of the critters used within this dual elixir in combination with a strengthening agent appears to be expressed through the production of flames when the test subject’s muscles are exerted.

Further experimentation with this elixir has been postponed until we can acquire an adequately fireproofed area. I also expressed concern over how gleeful the subject appeared to be at this development.

 **Energy + Endurance**  
DO NOT REPEAT. Under no circumstances is this combination ever to be recreated.

Upon consuming the elixir, comprised of Tireless Frog and Restless Cricket the subject immediately began to shake and was overcome by mania. They took off into a sprint around the premises several times before returning to their original spot and start talking - without stopping – and bouncing incessantly. It is unfortunate that the speed at which they were speaking was too quick for me to be able to pick up and I am unsure if all of it was in Hylian. Each new surge of action ended abruptly before turning into another action, for the subject appeared to be unable to stop and stay still for more than five seconds. Occasionally, the subject would simply make an horrendous screaming noise before darting off to run in a random direction.

Trying to lure the subject into the house was a mistake.

_I must now go and tend to Link who is clinging to the rafters in the ceiling at the moment. I should perhaps also test my hypothesis, at a later date, that Link is in fact part lizard; there is no other explanation for his natural inclination to climb anything and everything he can._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially become way to invested in this AU, good lord, they might get a dog much later. Chapter art can be found [[here]](http://sarcastic-sketches.tumblr.com/post/168862209785/chapter-3-of-aftermath-ao3-i-genuinely) which is actually a reference sheet for Link's prosthetic arm in full detail in case anyone was curious. This chapter was beta'd by PilotInTheAttic
> 
> As always, please feel free to ask me questions about this AU or give me prompts for future chapters to consider either in the comments here, my tumblr sarcastic-sketches or my twitter @British_Sarcasm. Thanks for reading and the next installation 'System Failure' is gonna be a nice fluffy sickfic, so I hope you enjoy that~

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so, Zelda is not going to become the next Queen in this series folks. This is not a series where we follow the pair as they try to regain the Kingdom. This is a series where they said 'screw that' and lived peaceful lives where they don't have to be told what to do anymore.
> 
> Eventually, Zelda builds a school, and we get full circle to Skyloft but on the ground, but that's much later.
> 
> Chapter art can be found [[here]](http://sarcastic-sketches.tumblr.com/post/168125101000/part-5-aftermath-ao3-i-have-decided-to-continue)


End file.
